KOTA KINABALU: Employers have been reminded to register their foreign workers under the regularisation programme that was reactivated in September.
Sabah Immigration Department director Datuk Sharifah Sitti Saleha Habib Yusoff said the programme, which was initiated in 2019, was to address the issue of undocumented migrants from Indonesia and the Philippines, mostly working without valid work permits in the plantation and farming sectors in the state.
She said the programme fell dormant after the state government postponed it due to the Covid-19 pandemic on April 30, 2023.
"There was poor response from employers then," she told reporters at the Sabah Immigration office here on Wednesday (Sept 18).
"This regularisation programme will be carried out after the state and federal governments agreed on it," said Sitti Saleha, adding that she hoped the respective Indonesian and Philippine consulates would also provide cooperation.
In 2019, she said 123,575 foreign workers were registered under the programme.
She said the state government would use the data collected for a digital database on the number of foreign workers in Sabah.
"Once the state tells us that the digitalisation drive is over, we will hold a large-scale enforcement campaign in plantations and farms.
"If any employer fails to comply with Immigration rules or laws, they will be charged ... there will be no more mercy," Sitti Saleha warned.
She explained that employers must first apply for a quota on the number of workers needed with the Home Affairs and Research Office in the Chief Minister's Department.
She said once the quota is set, the government will contact the respective consulates to issue the required passports.
"The employers must maintain communication with the state government and consulates. Once the passports are issued, they must apply for work permits from the Immigration Department with the worker quota approval letter.
"We will only issue permits or temporary work visit passes (PLKS), for workers in the plantation and farming sectors based on the approval letter issued to employers," Sitti Saleha said.
Besides legalising migrant workers, she said the programme also aimed to address the workers' shortage issue in the two sectors.
