Malaysian Minister of Human Resources, Richard Riot, saying it is NOT TRUE that Malaysia will be bringing in 1.5 million new Bangladeshi migrant workers.... When confronted with the statements allegedly made by Ahmad Zahidi, Malaysia's Home Minister, under whom is the Immigration Department, he stood firm stating "It came from him (Zahid) and I think I
will stick to my answer saying that the 1.5 million is actually the
number of registered Bangladeshi workers.". "The
figure that has been mentioned is actually the number of workers
registered with the government of Bangladesh through the Ministry of
Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment."
"The figure of 1.5 million Bangladesh workers is actually the number of workers registered with the Government of Bangladesh through the Ministry of Expatriates' welfare and Overseas Employment for the purpose of employment to 139 countries in the world, including Malaysia, Singapore, UAE and Saudi Arabia," he said. "The perception that 1.5 million workers will be brought in from Bangladesh to Malaysia to work is not true."
So, it seems that 1.5 million is figure of Bangladeshis registered in the system in their country - not meaning that they will all come to Malaysia. Richard also said, MoU signed did not mention any figure, just like other
MoUs Malaysia has signed with seven other countries - Indonesia, India,
Thailand, Cambodia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
The Immigration Department, under the Home Minister, approves and/or issues migrant worker work passes/permits, and maybe also does the LEVY collections. Really, all matters concerning workers should be under the Minister of Human Resources, including the approvals and LEVY collection policies. The Immigration Department should stick to the administrative function of issuing visas. They maybe can reject an application for a work visa/pass for reasons similar to why the disallow any normal visitors coming to Malaysia - security considerations. etc.
All matters of Human Resource, Workers, employers and matters related must come directly under the Minister of Human Resources. This will also include the amount of Levy payable by employers of migrant workers. So employers and employer groups should be going to see the Minister of Human Resources - not the Home Minister on matters concerning human resources.
Richard Riot also revealed that currently Malaysia's labour policy is that the number of migrant workers in Malaysia SHALL NOT exceed 15% of the total labour force. 15% of the current labour force is
Bangladeshi workers in the country totalled 282,287, while Indonesia still tops the list with 828,283 workers, followed by Nepali workers at 526,933...
Malaysia currently has 2,135,035 foreign workers,....The current workforce that we have in the country is 15.3 million.... Richard said it was Malaysia’s policy to ensure that the maximum number of foreign workers would not be more than 15 percent of the country’s total workforce.
Interestingly, our Home Minister (also Deputy Prime Minister), Ahmad Zahid
Hamidi, also made a statement of his own today stating, '...The government today announced it has put on hold the recruitment of
workers from all source countries until it ascertains the actual
manpower needs of industries...."Foreign workers without valid documents or
have overstayed in the country will be arrested and sent back to their
country of origin,"...'He said enforcement against illegal foreign workers would be stepped up and implemented on a large scale in the country.'
Now, was there a recent (maybe yesterday??) Cabinet Meeting or some special cabinet meeting or the Cabinet Committee on Foreign Workers meeting recently that decided on this matter that Zahid Hamidi announced today?...
See earlier related posts, some of which are as follows:-
See earlier related posts, some of which are as follows:-
MTUC stopped at gate of Ministry when they went to express views about '1.5 million NEW Bangladeshi migrants' plans?
101 Groups Letter to PM Najib - Employers should pay the Levy – Not Migrant Workers , Immoral for Malaysia to take from Workers to overcome national economic problems
Richard Riot - still Minister of Human Resources? Or now it is Zahid Hamidi? 1.5 million new Migrant Workers?
Singapore - Migrant Worker Employer Pay Levy, Quotas, Increased levy as you increase percentage of MW? Protection of local workers?
For local workers, employers pay extra 13% above their income to EPF - not so for migrant workers?]
1.5m Bangladeshi workers figure incorrect, says minister
Human Resources Minister Richard Riot has denied claims that the country will bring in 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers.
At a press conference today, Richard said the widely spread perception was simply "not correct".
"The perception that 1.5 million workers will be brought in from Bangladesh to work in Malaysia is not true," Richard said.
"The figure that has been mentioned is actually the number of workers registered with the government of Bangladesh through the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment.
"This is not the number that will be recruited (by Malaysia). Bangladesh is sending workers to 139 countries throughout the world," he said.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed yesterday by both Malaysia and Bangladesh, he said, was just like any other MoUs.
When it was pointed out to him that Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was the one who announced the figure, Richard said he preferred to "stick to his answer".
He added: "It came from him (Zahid) and I think I will stick to my answer saying that the 1.5 million is actually the number of registered Bangladeshi workers."
Asked why he had allowed the perception to persist, Richard said he wanted to wait until the MoU was signed.
“That's the reason why I, as human resources minister, opted not to say anything.
“That's why I called for the press conference. Not until I signed (it)... it is perhaps rumours or hearsay, even though the word came from the deputy prime minister,” he said.
MoU subject to review
Putrajaya yesterday inked the deal with Dhaka to bring in the Bangladeshi workers into the country.
Zahid, in June last year, announced that 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers would be brought to Malaysia in stages to meet the needs of employers from numerous sectors.
The workers will enter Malaysia under the G2G (government-to-government) Plus scheme which allows them employment in the construction, service, manufacturing and agriculture sectors, apart from the existing plantation sector opened to them.
Meanwhile,
Richard said the MoU signed did not mention any figure, just like other
MoUs Malaysia has signed with seven other countries - Indonesia, India,
Thailand, Cambodia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.However, the MoU will be subject to a review after five years.
Asked for the total number of Bangladeshi workers that will actually be brought in, the minister said it all depended on the demand.
Employers and companies, said Richard, must log in online, through the Bangladesh Workers Management System, to apply for workers.
There is currently no available list of companies that have registered, he said.
Sabah, Sarawak have own labour laws
Asked whether other states would follow the way of Sabah and Sarawak, which have stated that they would not accept Bangladeshi workers, Richard said the two states have their own labour ordinance.
“Other states in Peninsular Malaysia don't have their own labour ordinance. Therefore, the question of other states following suit does not arise,” he said.
Asked whether the government planned to reduce its reliance on foreign workers, Richard said it was Malaysia’s policy to ensure that the maximum number of foreign workers would not be more than 15 percent of the country’s total workforce.
“The current workforce that we have in the country is 15.3 million. (Some) 15 percent of this number is 2.3 million, we have not exceeded the figure.”
Although Malaysia currently has 2,135,035 foreign workers, he admitted that the cap at 2.3 million did not take into account illegal migrant workers.
“For every 10 legal foreign workers, there are eight illegal workers. That means there are about 1.7 million undocumented workers in the country,” he said.
Registered Bangladeshi workers in the country totalled 282,287, while Indonesia still tops the list with 828,283 workers, followed by Nepali workers at 526,933. - Malaysiakini, 19/2/2016
The government today announced it has put on hold the recruitment of
workers from all source countries until it ascertains the actual
manpower needs of industries.
Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid
Hamidi said the suspension would also enable the government to review
the revised two-category levy on foreign workers.
He also said
that the government would focus on the foreign worker rehiring programme
and step up enforcement to ensure that no more foreigners entered the
country as workers.
"Foreign workers without valid documents or
have overstayed in the country will be arrested and sent back to their
country of origin," he said at a casual meeting with soldiers at the
Muara Tuang Camp, Sarawak.
He said enforcement against illegal foreign workers would be stepped up and implemented on a large scale in the country.
Zahid,
who is also the home minister, said it was hoped that Malaysians,
especially youths, would respond to the government call for local people
to take up the jobs now held by foreigners and become the mainstay of
the nation's workforce to drive national economic growth.
"The suspension will be in force until the government is satisfied with the manpower needs of the industries," he said.
More
than 1,000 soldiers attended the gathering with Zahid, the first event
of the deputy prime minister on his working visit to Sarawak beginning
today.
Tomorrow, he is scheduled to attend a Prisons Day event in Padang Merdeka, Kuching, and conclude his visit. - Bernama - Malaysiakini, 19/2/2016
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