Recruitment freeze won�t affect pact

Malaysia�s minister on manpower import from Bangladesh

Malaysia’s decision to halt the recruitment of new foreign workers will not affect the validity of the agreement signed with Bangladesh, The Star reports from Petaling Jaya quoting the country’s Human Resources Minister Richard Riot. This is because the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the countries was valid for a period of five years, the minister said. “The agreement will remain valid when the freeze is lifted. We have signed agreements for intake of foreign labour not only with Bangladesh but with seven countries. The freeze does not make the agreements null and void,” he stated. On Saturday, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the the country’s cabinet had decided to put a stop to the recruitment of new foreign workers into the country. He said employers who needed workers would have to apply to legalise existing foreigners in the country without work permits or whose permits have expired.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also the home minister, said employers had until June 30 to legalise such foreign workers. Meanwhile, the Works Ministry said the government’s decision to freeze the intake of foreign workers would not disrupt existing construction projects. Its minister Fadillah Yusof said the current workforce was sufficient to meet demand. “This is especially so with the rehiring programme introduced by the government, which will allow illegals to obtain valid work permits and be reallocated to sectors that need them. However, using foreign labour is a short-term solution,” he said when contacted yesterday. In the long run, he said the industry must reduce its dependency on foreign labour by leveraging on the Industrialised Building System (IBS) method and mechanisation in construction. New jobs in Malaysia for Bangladeshis, including those 15 lakh who were supposed to be hired under a recent bilateral agreement, came to a halt with the south-east Asian country announced the suspension of fresh recruitment of foreign workers on March 12.
“The Malaysian government has officially scrapped the plan to recruit new foreign workers, including 15 lakh Bangladeshis,” said Malaysia's deputy prime minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Bangladesh, on February 18, had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Malaysia to send 15 lakh workers there in three years under a government-to-government (G2G) plus system. But only a day after the signing the MoU between Bangladesh and Malaysia, on February 19, Malaysia decided to suspend recruitment of all foreign workers, including those from Bangladesh. Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the suspension would enable the Government to reconsider the revised two-tier levy for foreign workers. However, on February 21, Malaysian Human Resources Minister Richard Riot had said the deal on labour recruitment signed with Bangladesh on February 18 would not be affected by Malaysia’s decision to suspend recruitment of foreign workers.

Recruitment freeze won�t affect pact

Malaysia�s minister on manpower import from Bangladesh

Malaysias decision to halt the recruitment of new foreign workers will not affect the validity of the agreement signed with Bangladesh, The Star reports from Petaling Jaya quoting the countrys Human Resources Minister Richard Riot. This is because the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the countries was valid for a period of five years, the minister said. The agreement will remain valid when the freeze is lifted. We have signed agreements for intake of foreign labour not only with Bangladesh but with seven countries. The freeze does not make the agreements null and void, he stated. On Saturday, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the the countrys cabinet had decided to put a stop to the recruitment of new foreign workers into the country. He said employers who needed workers would have to apply to legalise existing foreigners in the country without work permits or whose permits have expired. Ahmad Zahid, who is also the home minister, said employers had until June 30 to legalise such foreign workers. Meanwhile, the Works Ministry said the governments decision to freeze the intake of foreign workers would not disrupt existing construction projects. Its minister Fadillah Yusof said the current workforce was sufficient to meet demand. This is especially so with the rehiring programme introduced by the government, which will allow illegals to obtain valid work permits and be reallocated to sectors that need them. However, using foreign labour is a short-term solution, he said when contacted yesterday. In the long run, he said the industry must reduce its dependency on foreign labour by leveraging on the Industrialised Building System (IBS) method and mechanisation in construction. New jobs in Malaysia for Bangladeshis, including those 15 lakh who were supposed to be hired under a recent bilateral agreement, came to a halt with the south-east Asian country announced the suspension of fresh recruitment of foreign workers on March 12. The Malaysian government has officially scrapped the plan to recruit new foreign workers, including 15 lakh Bangladeshis, said Malaysias deputy prime minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Bangladesh, on February 18, had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Malaysia to send 15 lakh workers there in three years under a government-to-government (G2G) plus system. But only a day after the signing the MoU between Bangladesh and Malaysia, on February 19, Malaysia decided to suspend recruitment of all foreign workers, including those from Bangladesh. Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the suspension would enable the Government to reconsider the revised two-tier levy for foreign workers. However, on February 21, Malaysian Human Resources Minister Richard Riot had said the deal on labour recruitment signed with Bangladesh on February 18 would not be affected by Malaysias decision to suspend recruitment of foreign workers.