KUCHING: The hike in levy for foreign workers will encourage employers to use local manpower.
According to Dewan Usahawan Bumiputera Sarawak (DUBS) president Datu Abang Helmi Ikhwan, if the levy was low, locals would have to compete with foreign workers for jobs.
“In Sarawak, however, this is not yet a major issue. Although we have foreign workers in the plantation and construction industries, we have less of them when compared to the peninsula.
“But priority should be given to locals. Otherwise, it will be hard for locals to look for jobs because they have to compete with foreign workers,” he told a press conference after Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Bumiputera Entrepreneur Development) Datuk Naroden Majais opened the ‘Economic Impact and Opportunities in Constructions and Related Industries in Sarawak’ seminar here yesterday.
Abang Helmi opined that having too many foreign workers could also lead to social problems.
“We don’t want the problems faced by Peninsular Malaysia here.”
Meanwhile, Naroden said in any sector, job priority should always be given to locals.
“Employers should try their best to let job seekers know about the vacancies available in their company. They should advertise in the newspapers, give notice to District Offices, and so on.
“If there is no response from locals, then the vacancies can be opened to foreigners.” He acknowledged that sectors such as plantation required hard-labour workers, and most locals shy away from such jobs.
“This is why there is a tendency to hire workers from countries such as Indonesia for the plantation sector, while Bangladeshis are hired in the construction or heavyweight industries.”
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi touched on the revised rate system on Sunday, which he said would boost Malaysia’s income by an additional RM2.5 billion annually. The foreign worker levy for those in the manufacturing and construction sectors is RM2,500, an increase from RM1,250, while that for the plantation and agriculture sectors have been raised to RM1,500, from RM590 and RM410 respectively.