MCMTC calls for a single agency to handle foreign worker employment process

KUALA LUMPUR - The Malaysian Consortium of Mid-Tier Companies (MCMTC) stands together with the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) calling for a single agency to handle the entire foreign worker employment process to ensure clarity, transparency and greater efficiency.

MCMTC president Callum Chen said Malaysia has a small population and a lot of the industries are still labour-intensive and dependent on foreign labour.

"As of now, applying for and getting foreign manpower requires a lot of time, effort and costs to deal with multiple agencies such as the Ministry of Human Resources (MOHR), Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA), JTK (Jabatan Tenaga - Department of Labour, under MOHR) and for those in manufacturing via the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI),” he said in a statement today.

In February 2022, the management of foreign workers was handed over to MOHR from MOHA.

The unity government had on Dec 21, 2022 announced that the One-Channel System (OCS) to recruit domestic workers (domestic helpers/maids) is under MOHR, and the One-Stop Centre (OSC) for the recruitment of foreign workers is under MOHA.

Chen said the questions that come to mind with the announcement are why is there a necessity to have various Ministries involved, with various document submissions?

"Would there be an improvement in the system or more confusion? Can we not have one single Ministry with a single online system that is transparent and easy to use?” he asked.

The MOHR is the umbrella organisation overseeing the planning, management, and development of Malaysia’s manpower resources, and the appropriate Ministry to manage foreign workers’ recruitment and management as well, said the statement.

The MOHA controls the immigration affairs such as the issuance of work permits.

FMM recently called on the government to review the decision to split the role of foreign worker management between MOHA and MOHR.

It said the entire processing of labour demand must be handled by MOHR while MOHA should focus on security issues, issuance of the relevant visa and border control measures as done in other countries that have a similar dependence on foreign workers to complement the country’s manpower requirements. - BERNAMA