Transit centres for newly arrived foreign workers

 Minister says such facilities are not detention centres, and will house the newcomers only temporarily before they are picked up by their employers.

Human resources minister R Ramanan said the transit centres are to reduce congestion at airports and ensure that the foreign workers are handed over to the employers who recruited them. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR:

The government has approved the setting up of transit centres to temporarily house foreign workers upon arrival before they are picked up by their employers, said human resources minister R Ramanan.

Ramanan said the centres are intended to ease congestion at airports and ensure that workers are handed over only to the employers who hired them.

“We don’t want them to simply leave the airport. They’re supposed to go to employer A, but instead go to B or C,” he told a press conference at Wisma HRD Corp here today.

“It is not a detention centre, but a transit centre. They are only placed there temporarily before being collected by their employers.”

He said the ministry is still studying suitable locations, and other buildings may be used in the meantime before a permanent facility is built.

Ramanan also said the one-stop centre for foreign workers has been placed under the human resources ministry following a Cabinet decision on July 1.

However, he clarified that the home ministry remains the authority responsible for conducting security screening and issuing passes and work permits for foreign workers.

“Security is a priority. The power to approve the issuance of passes or work permits remains under the home ministry. Each ministry has its own role,” he said. - FMT