KULAI: The foreign worker hiring freeze for the plantations and commodities sector will only be lifted after Malaysia successfully controls the Covid-19 pandemic, says Datuk Dr Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali.
The Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister said that among the factors that would be taken into consideration are the ability of companies in providing lodging that will adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) on Covid-19.
He said the government’s present policy in freezing the intake of foreign workers was also due to giving the priority to Malaysians first in the workforce.
“We are in the midst of mobilising a campaign so that plantations such as oil palm and rubber can carry out strict SOP to ensure there will be no outbreak in the respective sectors.
“If it is a success, the government could then consider giving the exemption but it will depend on our effort to control the present workforce in those sectors, ” he added.
Khairuddin said this after visiting a pepper farm pilot project undertaken by 23 entrepreneurs involving 2.3ha of land at Felda Inas Utara here on Sunday (Feb 7).
He added that presently, the government was in the midst of carrying out several initiatives to meet the demands of the sector, which requires a robust workforce.
“The government has provided a fund amounting to RM36mil that will be channelled to companies which successfully replace their foreign labour with locals.
“Through the initiative, the government will allocate about RM600 per month for one worker within the next six months, ” he said.
Khairuddin also said that besides the fund, the government would be carrying out a recalibration programme by taking in undocumented migrants to fill in the vacancies needed by certain sectors.
He added the matter was still in the discussion stage and would depend on the ability of companies in providing a working environment, which follows the SOP in place.
In another matter, Khairuddin said his ministry was also planning to increase Malaysia’s pepper production following high demand from local and international markets.
He added that such steps were being taken at the moment as presently, Malaysia’s pepper production was being headed by Sarawak through its own special product, the Sarawak black pepper.
Khairuddin said he believed Malaysia was able to expand the production by adding more pepper cultivation areas, which started in Johor before being widened to other states.
“The ministry has ordered the Malaysian Pepper Board (MBP) to set a target in bringing back Johor's glory days as the main pepper cultivation state in Malaysia." - Star
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.