Ahmad Zahid (centre) receiving a memento from Prasarana Malaysia Berhad Group chairman Tan Sri Ismail Adam (second right) at the 16th International Association of Public Transport (UITP) Asia Pacific Assembly in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Looking on are (from left) UITP Asia Pacific chairman Morris Cheung, UITP secretary general Alain Flausch and Prasarana Malaysia Berhad Group CEO Datuk Azmi Abdul Aziz. — Bernama photo
KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi wants to see more Malaysians joining the construction sector in addressing the shortage of foreign workers in the country.
He said although there were already some two million foreign workers in the country, employers were still facing a shortage of workers, resulting in delays in some projects.
However, Ahmad Zahid who is also Home Minister, assured that the government was taking note of the situation and was in the midst of fine-tuning the process of hiring foreign workers.
“We are fully aware of the grouses over the shortage of manpower in the country, including in the construction sector.
“We are also opening our eyes and ears, and studying their (employers) demands,” he said in his keynote address at the 16th International Association of Public Transport (UITP) Asia Pacific Assembly, here, yesterday.
Ahmad Zahid said employers also needed to train more skilled local workers as a long-term solution to the problem.
Addressing the 500 delegates from more than 30 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, the deputy prime minister said the Malaysian government was committed to ensuring that all projects, including in the public transportation sector, were implemented as planned.
“We will ensure that no projects are delayed but if delays are inevitable, they should be at the very minimal.”
He said as the country became more progressive, the public transport system needed to keep pace with the progress in a manner that was sustainable and eco-friendly.
“It is also critically important for businesses and stakeholders be given the chance to participate in the planning of the transport infrastructure,” he added.
Ahmad Zahid also shared with the delegates, updates on the public transportation projects that have been rolled out.
These include improving the main rail line and bus network in the Klang Valley, improving in capacity for the monorail and LRT services, as well as introducing a Bus Performance Monitoring Hub System and a new taxi business model.
Other projects in the pipeline are the Putrajaya Urban Rail project and the second Bus Rapid Transit project for the Klang Valley.
“We are also in the midst of planning for the very exciting high-speed rail project which will connect the central business district of Kuala Lumpur to downtown Singapore in mere 90 minutes,” Ahmad Zahid said. — Bernama