KUALA LUMPUR: The government will look into the plight of foreign workers left in the lurch by employers who have gone bust, as well as those having issues with their permits.
Deputy Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Dr Edmund R. Santhara Kumar said the Special Cabinet Committee on migrant workers will address all the issues facing foreign workers in difficult situations.
This includes those facing issues with their permits, such as inconsistencies in the information on their documents.
"We will look at how to help those who should be helped, at how to find them new employers and such. This is so we can hire the ones in Malaysia instead of recruiting new workers (from abroad)," he said after a walkabout with Masjid India and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman traders here today.
Earlier, Edmund was asked if the government could look into revisiting the 6P programme to legitimise undocumented workers that was done in 2011. This was mooted to prevent another wave of Covid-19 infections from those within the vulnerable group who would go into hiding in the event of raids.
The New Straits Times had put this to him, as employers across sectors and industries in Malaysia always seek to recruit fresh migrant workers, despite the number of workers stranded without documentation already in Malaysia.
Edmund, who was part of the Cabinet Committee co-chaired by Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, said that the government needs a mechanism for holistic solution.
He also said he proposed in the meeting that a long-term solution must be sought for refugees in Malaysia.
"We need to identify the sectors and industries that they can work in, such as construction, plantation and the manufacturing of furniture.
"The second issue is where they can work, and gazette to it. They probably can't work in Kuala Lumpur, as the factories for these four or five sectors may not be here. We have to safeguard the full industry – that is something we are looking at."
Present at the meeting were Masjid India Business Association president Datuk Ameer Ali Mydin and Malaysia Indian Muslim Congress (Kimma) president Datuk Seri Syed Ibrahim Kader.
Ameer hoped for a reboot of the district which was slowly picking up after the Movement Control Order (MCO) tapered into its recovery phase this week.
He said there are more people moving about, parking, as well as shopping there. The buses are also back to their usual routes.
"There is a report saying that footfall has increased 60-70 per cent, but if you were to have come last week, it was like a dead town. That's why I called the Prime Minister to visit it."
However, he said that the presence of security personnel is driving away their 'legal' foreign clientele.
"The fear of enforcement keeps them away because sometimes, they don't bring their documentation and they are detained and brought to the depots first.
"Even I tell my staff 'don't go jalan-jalan now because if they pick you up in the raid it will take time as they have to verify your status'. The authorities have to do their job, but these people are scared."
He said the message from the government should be clear – if a person is 'legal' they should have no fear of the authorities.
Meanwhile, Edmund also said that RM100,000 will be allocated by the ministry for the promotion of the area as a shopping district. He also said that he will rope in tourism stakeholders to ensure that the area is made a product for those visiting the place.
MIBA said that traders in the area will also look at a matching allocation by way of giving out vouchers and other incentives.