KUALA LUMPUR, May 9 — The Immigration Department will soon unfreeze its ban on foreign workers but said employers must prove they are essential to their business.
Its director-general Datuk Seri Sakib Kusmi said the government will ease the ban after it concludes its rehiring programme to legitimise illegal foreign workers next month, The New Straits Times reported today.
“We have received requests from industry players in specific areas, such as the manufacturing industry, but our focus is on the rehiring (programme) until next month,” he was quoted saying.
“After that, if we feel we have to hire (foreigners), and if they (industry players) want to bring in foreign workers, they will have to prove that there is a need to do so.”
One of the requirements included evidence that they have tried their best to hire locals first, Sakib added in The New Straits Times report.
In February, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced Putrajaya’s decision to freeze the recruitment of all foreign workers including the 1.5 million Bangladeshis offered by Dhaka.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also home minister, added that the moratorium will remain in effect until Putrajaya is convinced about the actual manpower requirements in the various sectors locally.
