ARAU: It will be much cheaper to recruit foreign workers from now on with faster approvals given, says Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
“Our priority will be Malaysian employers who need foreign labour, who can be guaranteed faster approvals at a lower cost,” he said.
According to Saifuddin Nasution, there are currently about 900 recruitment agencies appointed by the Home Ministry.
The government, he said, is mulling the setting up of a foreign labour demand portal to help ease the process of recruiting foreign workers from 15 source countries.
“The portal will be able to inform source countries of Malaysia’s needs and demands for its critical industries,” he told a press conference at the Padang Besar Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) Complex here yesterday.
Sharing a light moment: Saifuddin Nasution (left) chatting with passengers at the KTM Padang Besar railway station in Perlis. — ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star
Saifuddin Nasution said during his visits to several source countries recently, they had expressed an interest in creating their own supply portals that could be integrated with the Malaysian portal.
“Both systems will enable the countries to interact and know the supply and demand of foreign workers between Malaysia and the source countries,” he said, adding that for now, the portal remains an idea and will not replace the existing system.
Meanwhile, on the National Integrated Immigration System (NIISe), Saifuddin Nasution said his ministry will scrutinise it before deciding on whether the company will be allowed to continue the project or if there will be a review.
On Wednesday, he said his ministry will determine if the disposal of equity interest by the company granted the project has breached the terms and conditions of the agreement signed with the government.
Immigration director-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud has said that NIISe will be introduced in two years with all immigration-related affairs, including those now being managed by external parties, reverting to the department.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission is investigating a former prime minister and his son-in-law in relation to the project.
Earlier, Saifuddin Nasution toured the Padang Besar ICQS Complex, accompanied by Khairul Dzaimee, Perlis state secretary Datuk Seri Hasnol Zam Zam Ahmad and state Immigration director Khairul Amin Talib.
The minister also announced that the Federal Government has agreed to reopen the access from Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) railway station to the Padang Besar ICQS Complex. It was closed on Sept 1, 2020.
He said the owner of the area, Railway Assets Corporation, is in the final phase of recruiting contractors to build a fenced walkway at the complex.
