KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 ― The Cabinet will exempt four industries from its moratorium on foreign labour recruitment due to insufficient manpower, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said.

The sectors are manufacturing, construction, plantations and furniture making.

“In view of the acute shortage, we have to lift the suspension to allow these sectors to bring in foreign workers,” the transport minister was quoted as saying by The Star newspaper today.

He also said the Cabinet is evaluating a new system on foreign recruitment for when the moratorium, which was imposed in February, is lifted completely.

The sectors allowed the exemption expressed “delight” over the decision.

The  Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Furniture Entrepreneur Association said the move brought the RM20 billion sector back from the brink, while Master Builders Association Malaysia president Matthew Tee said “common sense prevailed”.

Malaysian manufacturers reportedly complained that the moratorium caused labour shortages, with over 80 per cent saying they were affected.

The government is prioritising the rehiring of illegal foreign workers already in the country during the freeze, but only 55,000 out of estimated 1.4 million such illegals have been rehired to date.