PETALING JAYA, Jan 7 — PKR leaders demanded today that Putrajaya explain its decision to outsource the registration of migrant workers to E-government services provider MyEG, which they claimed will rake in an estimated annual profit of nearly RM100 million.
The government recently announced a new policy that requires employers to register details of their foreign employees through MyEG instead of doing it manually at the Home Ministry’s offices nationwide, compelling employers to pay the RM38 in fees the portal charges for each worker.
Counter registrations were previously free of charge.
“Based on the total amount of migrant workers out there, which is about 2.3 million, MyEG could make a whopping RM87.4 million a year in profits.
“According to the government, this was done to ease the congestion at government counters and eradicate the middle men. We find this excuse unacceptable because surely available technology can solve the problems,” the party’s Sungai Petani MP Datuk Johari Abdul told a press conference here.
Employers could also face further increased charges when the government rolls out the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in April, he added.
“They already have to pay levy, visa and guarantee bonds that amounts up to thousands of ringgit each year, now they have to pay more for the registration process”.
Johari said it was alarming to see the government outsource the registration process to a private company.
The second-term Sungai Petani MP demanded that Putrajaya explain the rationale behind the decision and if the project tender was done openly.
He also asked the free counter registration process was shut down in favour of a paid service.
According to a statement by Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar in October last year, there are 2.1 million registered foreign workers in Malaysia.
Deputy Human Resource Minister Datuk Ismail Abd Muttalib was reported by English-language daily the New Straits Times in July last year as saying that there are 1.3 million illegal immigrants in the country.
