June 30 deadline to legalise foreign workers, says Zahid

Malaysia is trying to address the problem of undocumented workers by forcing employers to register them before June 30. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, March 12, 2016.The deadline for employers to legalise existing undocumented workers has been brought forward to June 30, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today.

The Star Online reported Zahid, who is also home minister, saying this was because employers were not coming forward to do so under the Rehiring Programme for Illegal Workers, which began on February 15.

“The government is bringing forward the deadline from December 31 because employers continuously ignore the chances given to then,” he was quoted as saying.

He also reiterated the Cabinet’s freeze on the recruitment of new foreign workers.

Employers would only be allowed to rehire foreign workers already in the country, whose work permits have expired or who have been working without valid documents.

Zahid said this was discussed at the Cabinet meeting yesterday.

"The government is criticised and pressured. If they can't hire anyone, they should just get the Malaysian Employers Federation, Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers and Malaysian Trade Union Congress to help them find locals to do the job," he said of employers.

However, he said the decision did not involve the domestic help or maid sector.

Putrajaya recently came under fire over its decision to freeze foreign worker recruitment after it first announced a plan in June last year to bring in 1.5 million workers from Bangladesh.

The government signed an agreement with Bangladesh last month to recruit its citizens as workers and said the freeze would not affect the deal which is valid for at least three years.

Along with the freeze, Putrajaya announced the Rehiring Programme for Illegal Workers to grant amnesty to and take stock of the existing number of undocumented workers in the country.

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan has said the rehiring programme was necessary because the government had waited a long time for businesses to automate their processes so that Malaysia could reduce its dependance on foreign labour. 

Civil society groups meanwhile have urged the government to take stock of existing illegal foreign labour in the country before allowing more in given the impact on the country's social system. – March 12, 2016.