The arrival of foreign labour into Malaysia has been too few compared with the amount of levies already paid, said the National Recovery Concil (MPN).
MPN CEO Sulaiman Mahbob said as of Sept 12, only 76,000 labour entries from 12 countries were recorded out of 467,223 approved quotas. Meanwhile, levies paid amounted to RM713,890.
“That figure is too little compared to the levies already paid. Therefore, we want the Home Ministry and the Human Resources Ministry to review the process of hiring foreign workers because many sectors have a very high level of dependency.
“We found that many workers applied and made payments, but there are fewer people arriving. The question is, why haven’t they come? Does it involve their country’s problems or some other reasons?
“This point needs to be emphasised, otherwise, the agriculture sector, especially palm oil, will continue to suffer problems from worker shortage,” he told reporters in a recent media briefing.
He explained that labour-intensive industries such as manufacturing, tourism, construction, retail, electronics, and agriculture have also been affected by the labour shortage issue.
In addition, Sulaiman said investment and trade as well as micro, small and medium enterprises (PMKS) also need to be prioritised in the country’s recovery process.
He said Malaysia needs to encourage more investment because it creates job opportunities, while trade ensures the country’s economic recovery continues as the Malaysian economy depends on global trade.
“In the context of the affected supply chain, many export activities have been disrupted (due to the pandemic). However, in this recovery process, we see that Port Klang’s performance has improved.
“They are ready and able to attract cargo to our ports. The port sector really helps us increase exports,” he said.
Focus on SMEs, PMKS
In terms of the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and PMKS, Sulaiman said these groups need special attention from the government because they are the backbone of the country’s domestic investment.
“SMEs and PMKS are the worst affected by the pandemic compared with multinational companies that can move to other countries with lower labour costs.
“For that reason, we have to focus on SMEs and PMKS, as we want them to develop into mid-level companies and to support multinational companies and later global industry players,” he said.
He said the cooperation of the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC), the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) and the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) is the best combination to drive the country’s economy.
“MPC can work with PMKS to increase productivity while Mida encourages investment and Matrade helps expand markets overseas. This is the best combination to drive the national economy,” he said.
Commenting on the proposal for a special moratorium on SMEs, Sulaiman hopes that, after the election, the new government will take a deeper look at the issue as SMEs are a critical component in the country’s economic growth.
Besides that, MPN also emphasises the issue of food safety in ensuring that the population’s food resources are at an optimal level.
“In 1970, we had the Buku Hijau (Green Book) plan, a programme to help and if possible for the long term, we have to reduce imports in terms of food, not only from the perspective of self-sufficiency but also food security,” said Sulaiman.
Therefore, he urged the state governments to cultivate their agricultural land to produce food while avoiding dependence on imported materials.
Meanwhile, he also disclosed that MPN has presented 95 proposals in total, with 86 approved by the cabinet while nine are still awaiting a decision.
Of that number, 69 percent is related to critical issues such as health, economy, and social, while 26 percent is related to management and administration matters.
“Out of the 69 percent, 16 recommendations or 23 percent have been completed, 30 recommendations or 43 percent are still being implemented, and 14 recommendations or 20 percent have yet to be implemented.
“Overall, almost 66 percent have been implemented, things are moving; most of the proposals were accepted by the cabinet,” he said.
- Bernama
The arrival of foreign labour into Malaysia has been too few compared with the amount of levies already paid, said the National Recovery Concil (MPN).
MPN CEO Sulaiman Mahbob said as of Sept 12, only 76,000 labour entries from 12 countries were recorded out of 467,223 approved quotas. Meanwhile, levies paid amounted to RM713,890.
“That figure is too little compared to the levies already paid. Therefore, we want the Home Ministry and the Human Resources Ministry to review the process of hiring foreign workers because many sectors have a very high level of dependency.
“We found that many workers applied and made payments, but there are fewer people arriving. The question is, why haven’t they come? Does it involve their country’s problems or some other reasons?“This point needs to be emphasised, otherwise, the agriculture sector, especially palm oil, will continue to suffer problems from worker shortage,” he told reporters in a recent media briefing.
He explained that labour-intensive industries such as manufacturing, tourism, construction, retail, electronics, and agriculture have also been affected by the labour shortage issue.
In addition, Sulaiman said investment and trade as well as micro, small and medium enterprises (PMKS) also need to be prioritised in the country’s recovery process.
He said Malaysia needs to encourage more investment because it creates job opportunities, while trade ensures the country’s economic recovery continues as the Malaysian economy depends on global trade.
“In the context of the affected supply chain, many export activities have been disrupted (due to the pandemic). However, in this recovery process, we see that Port Klang’s performance has improved.
“They are ready and able to attract cargo to our ports. The port sector really helps us increase exports,” he said.
Focus on SMEs, PMKS
In terms of the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and PMKS, Sulaiman said these groups need special attention from the government because they are the backbone of the country’s domestic investment.
“SMEs and PMKS are the worst affected by the pandemic compared with multinational companies that can move to other countries with lower labour costs.
“For that reason, we have to focus on SMEs and PMKS, as we want them to develop into mid-level companies and to support multinational companies and later global industry players,” he said.
He said the cooperation of the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC), the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) and the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) is the best combination to drive the country’s economy.
“MPC can work with PMKS to increase productivity while Mida encourages investment and Matrade helps expand markets overseas. This is the best combination to drive the national economy,” he said.
Commenting on the proposal for a special moratorium on SMEs, Sulaiman hopes that, after the election, the new government will take a deeper look at the issue as SMEs are a critical component in the country’s economic growth.
Besides that, MPN also emphasises the issue of food safety in ensuring that the population’s food resources are at an optimal level.
“In 1970, we had the Buku Hijau (Green Book) plan, a programme to help and if possible for the long term, we have to reduce imports in terms of food, not only from the perspective of self-sufficiency but also food security,” said Sulaiman.
Therefore, he urged the state governments to cultivate their agricultural land to produce food while avoiding dependence on imported materials.
Meanwhile, he also disclosed that MPN has presented 95 proposals in total, with 86 approved by the cabinet while nine are still awaiting a decision.
Of that number, 69 percent is related to critical issues such as health, economy, and social, while 26 percent is related to management and administration matters.
“Out of the 69 percent, 16 recommendations or 23 percent have been completed, 30 recommendations or 43 percent are still being implemented, and 14 recommendations or 20 percent have yet to be implemented.
“Overall, almost 66 percent have been implemented, things are moving; most of the proposals were accepted by the cabinet,” he said.
- Bernama
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