KAJANG, Nov 5 — Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail today said the Home Ministry (KDN) has frozen new foreign worker quotas, in line with a cap of 2.5 million set by the economy ministry by December.
He said that as of now, Malaysia has 2.41 million registered foreign workers, leaving a margin of roughly 90,000 before reaching the cap by that month.
“This ceiling is based on the country’s workforce availability of 17 million, which is a figure determined by the economy ministry.
“According to the ministry, the foreign worker employment policy must not exceed the established limit of 2.5 million and given that the current figure is only [around] 100,000 below this threshold, KDN has decided to freeze the issuance of new quotas for foreign workers since September this year,” he said during KDN’s town hall dialogue session here.
He added that the ministry has issued instructions to pause any new applications since September with quarterly reviews to reassess demand particularly in the five sectors which are agriculture, plantation, manufacturing, construction, and services.
However, he said out of the five sectors, the agriculture and plantation sectors are experiencing workforce shortages.
“Despite the freeze, discussions are ongoing to address labour shortages in these areas,” he added.
“Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani previously highlighted the necessity of importing workers for these sectors, which have yet to reach their required workforce levels.”
He also said that KDN and the human resources ministry have agreed to discuss this matter further by focusing on the verification of labour needs by relevant regulatory agencies.
He said the agencies must confirm the number of workers required by companies, particularly in the palm oil and rubber industries, before any new approvals are granted.
Saifuddin further revealed that, if required, the remaining 100,000 slots could be filled through existing applications that have yet to be utilised or through rehiring efforts.
