There is a high demand for foreign workers in the 3D sector, says deputy minister

By P PREM KUMAR & D KANYAKUMARI / Pic By HUSSEIN SHAHARUDDIN

There are 1.7 million foreign workers registered in Malaysia servicing all sectors of the economy, the Dewan Rakyat was told yesterday.

Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Abd Muttalib said there is a high demand in Malaysia for foreign workers in the so-called 3D — dirty, difficult and dangerous — sector because there are not enough locals to fill those jobs.

“At present, Malaysia hosts foreign workers from 13 different countries,” he said in response to Putatan MP Datuk Dr Makin @ Marcus Mojigoh.

Makin had asked the government to state the number of registered foreign workers in the country and the estimated amount of salary earned by them.

Ismail said the highest number of registered foreign workers comes from Indonesia (707,181), followed by Nepal (385,320) and Bangladesh (222,898), while Laos has only 33 individuals registered.

However, he said the numbers only cover legal foreign workers, as the ministry has no record of unregistered labourers in the country.

Ismail said there are many foreign workers, despite local regulations that prioritise employment of locals.

“Before an employer hires foreign workers, they need to first advertise the opening. Only when no Malaysian takes the job, will it be opened to foreign workers.

“In fact, according to the government policy, locals are given priority even in the 3D sectors. Foreign workers are also not employed as front liners or enforcement officers,” he said.

Ismail said a foreign worker in Malaysia makes an average income of RM1,200 per month last year, compared to the Malaysian average income of RM2,000 per month.

The number of foreign workers has fallen recently. It was two million two years ago, but the government has managed to reduce the number by 300,000 since.

“The number will slowly keep reducing as more and more Malaysians take up available jobs here,” he said.

Ismail said that of the 1.7 million foreign workers, 153,523 are considered “expatriates” who earn executive-level pay.

Last July, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said there were a total of 1.78 registered foreign workers in Malaysia.

At that time, he also said a rehiring programme had been implemented between February 2016 and Dec 31, 2017, for foreigners from 15 source countries.