KUALA LUMPUR, June 6 — The process for rehiring migrant labour must be reviewed and simplified to overcome the shortage of workers in the Indian-Muslim food industry, said the Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners’ Association (Primas).

“The procedure should be simple and easy, just as it was done during Tun’s time in 1996 when there was an amnesty given to foreign labourers,” group president Muthusamy Thirumeni said, referring to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s previous stint in power.

“We also suggested to the council that all the entry points to be sealed very tightly and also to give a certain duration of how long the foreign workers should stay in the country so that they all can be accountable,” he told reporters after meeting with the Council of Eminent Persons at Ilham Tower, here, today.

Muthusamy said this accountability would also allow the government to obtain more accurate data on foreign labour in the country for the purposes of policy formation.

He blamed the complexity of the recruitment process for difficulties among Indian-Muslim restaurants in securing workers.

“The shortage is very acute and while some is at the verge of closure, others are either downsizing or reducing operation hours.

“The previous policy, we were able to get replacement workers when they leave but currently we have not been able to do so and therefore the numbers keep going down,” he said.

When asked about recruiting local workers instead, Muthusamy claimed were not interested in such jobs.

Also present that the meet was Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma) president Ayub Khan.