KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 9 — Long working hours, low wages and plenty of hard work. These were some of the issues raised by youngsters who admitted they shied away from the service industry, forcing restaurant operators to hire foreigners instead.

A manager of a Subway outlet in Kuala Lumpur, who declined to be named because of company policy, said Malaysians were choosy and pampered.

“They are too demanding and difficult to work with,” she said, adding she had yet to encounter problems with foreigners.

“Most of them whine a lot and object to almost everything. For example, they are reluctant to put in the extra hours.”

She was commenting on the decision made by the Cabinet Committee on Foreign Workers and Illegal Immigrants on Tuesday that fast-food outlets would no longer be allowed to hire foreigners to work at such eateries.

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said Malaysians had expressed willingness to work in the sector. 

The starting pay at a fast-food outlet is generally RM3.50 an hour. One is able to pocket RM28 after eight hours of work a day — less than the RM35 taxpayer’s money the government spends daily on each detained illegal immigrant.

Recalling her experience working with Malaysians, the manager said one “went missing” after an hour on the job while another did not return after the lunch break.

If the new ruling came into effect, it would hurt some establishments in the industry as it would be difficult finding Malaysians to replace foreigners.

“We will be caught in a dilemma if the policy is introduced,” she said.

The manager takes charge of seven workers, including four foreigners. All workers in the outlet were responsible for preparing food, servicing customers and cleaning the eatery.

“We would not simply hire foreigners. We adhere to set regulations to avoid any issues,” she said.

She hoped decision-makers would study the feasibility of the ruling and speak to operators and even managers before making a final decision.

“It is easy to make decisions from the comfort of a meeting room. It would be nice if decision-makers spent time observing how we work before coming up with new rulings,” she said.

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the directive to ban foreign workers from working at fast-food outlets was because Malaysians, by large, have expressed willingness to work in the sector.

He said the definition of fast-food outlets referred to the likes of, among others, KFC, McDonald’s, Marrybrown and Pizza Hut.

“Employers should give priority to locals when it comes to the recruitment of staff,” he said, adding that many Malaysians could not work in these restaurants as the jobs were monopolised by foreigners.

However, he said,  the ministry was still carrying out a comprehensive study on the matter to define the decision made by the Cabinet Committee on Foreign Workers and Illegal Immigrants on Tuesday. 

McDonald’s Malaysia had, in a statement yesterday, said it was their practice to prioritise the recruitment of local workers. 

“This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that nearly 95 per cent of McDonald’s 12,000 employees are locals,” said McDonald’s Malaysia managing director Stephen Chew.

“We are in the midst of gathering information about the Cabinet’s decision.” 

Chew said the company would support the government in enforcing applicable rulings.

He said the company had a robust development plan this year and will provide approximately 2,000 new jobs alongside training and development opportunities for Malaysians.

A spokesman from Marrybrown said the company was still getting information about the ruling from the ministry. 

“At the moment, we have between two and three foreigners working at each outlet,” she said.

She said Malaysians would only work several months unlike foreigners, who stayed on for years.