Malaysia to speed up process to hire Bangladeshi workers
The process of bringing migrant workers from Bangladesh will be expedited to cover the shortage of workers in three sectors, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Mah Siew Keong said in an event last Friday, reports Free Malaysia Today news portal.
He added that the government was working with their Bangladeshi counterparts at the highest level to ensure that the demand was met for migrant workers as the plantation, rubber glove manufacturing and furniture sectors were in dire need of workers, The New Straits Times (NST) reported.
Last week, the Cabinet directed Human Resources Minister Richard Riot Jaem to speed up the process of sourcing new hires from Bangladesh.
My ministry is coordinating with relevant authorities to ease this problem so that you can meet the export orders, Mah was quoted as saying at a dinner hosted by the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Furniture Industry Association in conjunction with its 60th anniversary in Subang.
Mahs comments followed that of Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who told the Dewan Rakyat earlier last week of the impact the freeze on foreign workers had on the furniture and plantation sector so far this year.
On Nov 2, Zahid, who is also Home Minister, said Putrajayas decision to freeze the intake of foreign workers led to the furniture and plantation sector incurring losses of over RM7.7 billion this year.
The inability to hire sufficient manpower, Zahid said, saw the local furniture industry record RM6.7 billion in losses, while the plantation industry incurred losses of over RM1 billion.
Many furniture companies, he explained, were unable to deliver their products for the international market on time.
The furniture exporters have signed agreements with foreign buyers but they cannot fulfil their obligations due to the insufficient workforce.
I know that the furniture industry alone needs more than 8,000 Bangladeshi employees and they are waiting for the freeze on intake to be lifted due to production issues, Zahid said in winding up the 2017 Budget for his ministry.
In February, the government suspended the recruitment of all foreign workers, including those from Bangladesh.
Then on May 12, Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai told the press that the Cabinet was lifting the freeze for the manufacturing, plantation, construction and furniture sectors.
Soon after that however, former Immigration Director-General Sakib Kusmi was quoted as saying that the easing up would begin only after the government concluded its exercise to legalise illegal foreign workers.
