6P fiasco: Agents cry foul over new ruling

Home Ministry decides to do away with a certificate from the Human Resources Ministry.

KUALA LUMPUR: Another controversy has reared up over the government’s 6P amnesty programme to register all legal and illegal foreign workers in the country.

This time, it is over the Home Ministry’s alleged ‘bypassing’ of the Human Resources Ministry requirement for approval before the foreigners can be fully legalised under the second phase of the 6P.

The issue caused great confusion this morning when 6P agents received news that there was no longer a need for a JobsMalaysia (formerly known as Jobs Clearance System) certificate issued by the Human Resources Ministry. Previously only with the certificate can a foreign worker be “legalised” by the Home Ministry.

Those at the immigration offices in Putrajaya this morning were shocked to see notices stating “Sijil JobsMalaysia (JCS) bagi proses pemutihan dikecualikan” (the JobsMalaysia certificate for the amnesty process is no longer required).

“We’re confused now and we’re not getting any firm answers from the relevant departments,” said a source from one 6P management agency.

“Why did the Home Ministry totally bypass another ministry? This is clearly an inter-conflict between two ministries,  by the Home Ministry superseeding the Human Resources Ministry’s role.

“They have lost control and lost direction over this 6P programme. Is this abuse being done just because someone wants to make money?” he asked.

The source said that the new ruling would mean that the Human Resources Ministry, which is in charge of the country’s labour force, would not know how many foreign workers are there in the country.

“Yes, we earlier asked for the requirements and paperwork to be relaxed, but you can’t totally remove them, that’s disastrous and totally defeats the purpose of having 6P,” he said.

Another 6P agent said the sudden removal of JobsMalaysia certificate requirement would not be fair to local workers, as the function of JobsMalaysia certificate was to ensure that human resources, both local and foreign, are utilised most optimally.

“Locals might be deprived of jobs because of this removal of the Human Resources Ministry approval. Who manages the labour resources of a country? Home Ministry or Human Resources Ministry?” asked the agent, who declined to be named.

Home Ministry: Making the process easier
However, National Smallholder Association Malaysia (Teluk Intan branch) chairman Tan Tang Seong said for the 1,000-plus vegetable farmers that he was registering, it was better that the Human Resources Ministry’s JobsMalaysia approval be abolished.

“A lot of them can’t produce the legal documents, such as titles for their farms. That’s why we suggested the removal of the JCS requirement.

“But the news about it being abolished today is very vague, we are still very confused,” said Tan, who is also an authorised 6P agent.

It is learnt that the Human Resource Ministry was not properly informed over today’s new decision.

Labour Department director-general Sheikh Yahya Sheikh Mohammed told FMT he was in the dark about the matter.

“I don’t know about this. This is the first time I’m hearing it. Ideally we should be consulted before a decision is made about this. We need to know what is the reason the Home Ministry decided to bypass us,” he said.

Meanwhile, Home Ministry secretary-general Mahmood Adam told FMT that it was untrue that the Human Resources Ministry approval was no longer needed.

“This was a Cabinet decision. But anyway, we still need the Human Resources Ministry approval. We are simply making the whole process easier by shortening the 7-day waiting to only one day. Now you get it within 24 hours,” he said.

(The Cabinet Committee on Foreign Workers and Illegal Immigrants is chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin).

Mahmood added that there are certain sectors, such as security, that comes directly under Home Ministry and does not even require a Human Resources Ministry approval.

“So there should not be any problems. Why are these agencies making noise?” he asked.

Numerous complaints
The 6P programme is an initiative by the Home Ministry to register legal and illegal immigrants in the country.

Under the programme, illegal immigrants get to gain amnesty through “6Ps”, which stands for– registering, legalising, pardoning, monitoring, enforcing and deporting illegal immigrants.

6P is also being initiated to help check human trafficking and trans-border crimes including drug smuggling and money laundering.

As of Aug 31, more than 2.3 million foreign workers and illegals were registered using the biometric system under the first phase of the 6P amnesty progamme. Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the number comprised 1,016,908 legal workers and 1,303,126 illegals.

The 6P programme had not been free from controversy. There were numerous complaints of the programme being exploited by several unscrupulous parties, including bogus agents, management companies overcharging fees, and legal immigrants taking the opportunity to abscond from their employers.

PKR Wanita chief Zuraida Kamaruddin even claimed that illegal immigrants registered under programme have been made to swear an oath that they and their families will vote for Barisan Nasional (BN) come polling day.

Under the second phase of the 6P programme, “legalisation” has started since October.