PUTRAJAYA: The government has agreed to expand the flexibility in foreign workers recruitment to the mining sector and certain subsectors under the agriculture, service and tourism industries.
Zahid (centre) gestures after chairing a meeting on foreign workers and illegal immigrants at Putrajaya. — Bernama photo
This was decided at the Cabinet Committee Meeting on Foreign Workers and Illegal Immigrants chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi here yesterday.
Ahmad Zahid who is also home minister said in a statement here that the decision was a follow-up to the freeze on foreign workers recruitment on Feb 19 last year.
He said the Cabinet had earlier agreed to provide flexibility to critical sectors – manufacturing, construction, plantation, and subsectors such as vegetable, fruit and flower farming.
“The flexibility was given after considering the requirement of the industry so as not to retard the economy particularly export-based industries,” he said.
He said the latest move covered hiring of foreign workers for agriculture subsector poultry and others in the critical sector.
The minister said approval had also been given to the mining and quarrying sector to hire foreign workers.
“The approval for this sector was only given on an interim basis up to 2020 and only to operators permitted to carry out mining and quarrying.”
He explained it was to meet urgent need because the subsector could not attract the interest of local workers who regard mining and quarrying activities as ‘dirty, difficult and dangerous (3D)’.
The committee also agreed during the meeting that foreign workers at the ports should be restricted to cargo handling, he said.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid said the committee had also agreed to extend the interim approval given in 2012 to 2016 to the service subsector – spa and foot reflexology, hotel/hospitality (back of house), resort islands, and golf caddy (male only) to the end of 2020.
As of Dec 31, 2016, the number of foreign workers holding active temporary work passes in the country is 1.86 million, a drop of 12.6 per cent compared to 2.14 million in the same period in 2015. — Bernama