KUALA LUMPUR – The Home Ministry must provide clear guidelines for foreign worker recruitment following its take-over of the Foreign Workers Management Division from the Human Resources Ministry, said the Malaysian Employers’ Federation (MEF).
While MEF president Datuk Syed Hussain Syed Husman welcomed the move to place the division under a single ministry, he cautioned that a lack of definite procedures for foreign workers’ employers will hinder the government’s efforts to tackle related issues.
“We believe this single point of contact (for employers) is good, (but) we need clear instructions on this move so that all parties are aware of what they have to do,” he said when contacted by Scoop today.
“If (instructions) aren’t clear, then we will be running around as before.”
The division’s move to the Home Ministry was effective August 1 but only announced by the Human Resources Ministry in a social media post on August 9.
Syed Hussain said its transfer to a different ministry could result in a learning curve and temporary disruptions as employers adapt to new procedures and systems.
“As the agencies responsible for the recruitment of foreign workers are now under the Home Ministry, there could be initial delays or uncertainties in the handling of existing applications, potentially causing short-term inconveniences for employers relying on timely recruitment of foreign workers.”
As such, he urged the Home Ministry to communicate clear instructions to employers to aid them in understanding the new procedures while avoiding mistakes which could lead to delays or non-compliance of foreign workers’ application and recruitment.
He added that the Home Ministry should address concerns on the transfer of the division, which reviews and approves foreign worker quotas and recruitment through the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS).
“Are the ministry staffers trained to handle the matter and able to guide employers? Will there be special help desks to assist employers? All these need to be addressed.
“Passing (the division) from one minister to another is not good enough,” he stressed.
He also called for a unified approach under the Home Ministry, coupled with consistent instructions, to ensure that all employers are subject to the same rules, procedures and expectations.
This, he said, will guarantee fairness and predictability in the recruitment and management of foreign workers as well as potentially paving the way for more efficient processing times for approvals and interviews.
Neither the Human Resources Ministry nor the Home Ministry has issued statements on the transfer.
As such, it remains unclear what roles each ministry will play in the recruitment and management of foreign workers.
The FWCMS was previously under the purview of the Home Ministry before it was passed to the Human Resources Ministry in 2022 under then human resources minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan.
Last month, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said his ministry will review discrepancies and wastage of public funds highlighted by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) relating to the FWCMS.
The committee found that there were overlapping functions between the FWCMS and the integrated foreign workers management system (ePPAx), with both systems based on the same single-window concept.
The FWCMS is solely operated by controversial IT solutions firm Bestinet Sdn Bhd, which recently had its relationship with Putrajaya extended following the expiration of its six-year contract with the Home Ministry to develop, supply, provide and maintain the FWCMS on May 31.
Saifuddin had on June 24 reportedly confirmed the three-year contract extension following reports by several media outlets on the matter, with the minister stating then that the cabinet had finalised the decision “a few weeks ago”.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission investigations division deputy director Khairul Nurrahim Ashadi Abdullah previously informed the PAC on January 22 that the graftbusters are still investigating Bestinet. – August 12, 2024