KUALA LUMPUR: Employers want the foreign worker issue to be resolved quickly and called on the government to expedite the application and approval processes in hiring them.
Otherwise, they warned, it could derail recovery efforts due to labour shortages in critical industries, such as the plantation, construction and manufacturing sectors.
Although the government had lifted the freeze on foreign worker recruitment, the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) said no new foreign workers had been brought in through the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS).
MEF president Datuk Dr Syed Hussain Syed Husman said 475,678 employers had submitted applications to recruit foreign workers through the system up to April 1.
He said 290,248 were from the manufacturing sector, 77,000 from the service sector, 53,854 from the plantation sector, 43,519 from the construction sector, 11,037 from the agricultural sector and 20 from the mining and quarry sector.
"MEF is very concerned that after close to two months of re-opening applications to recruit new foreign workers, only 2,605 applications in the manufacturing and plantation sectors have been approved," he said.
"Even though the unemployment rate is 4.2 per cent, with more than 680,000 vacancies, local workers are not keen to be employed in such sectors since the jobs are seen to be in the lower categories and unattractive.
"With economic sectors resuming in late 2021, the transition to the endemic phase and the reopening of our international borders, most employers are concerned about ensuring adequate supply of manpower so that industries can operate optimally.
"Despite employers trying hard to resolve the worker shortage, especially of foreign workers, the approval rate of 0.55 per cent of 475,678 applications is indeed a major concern since it could derail efforts by businesses to recover quickly.
"MEF is worried that the shortage may affect Malaysia's gross domestic product growth for 2022, which has been projected to be between 5.3 and 6.3 per cent by Bank Negara Malaysia."
He said the challenging application process through FWCMS had left employers in several sectors frustrated.
"Palm oil plantations face an acute shortage of harvesters, with planters losing more than RM30 billion and the government, consequently, losing revenue due to the loss in palm oil yield.
"Our palm oil industry may not be able to compete with neighbouring countries due to higher costs of sales and wastage. The government should address the shortage of more than 72,000 workers in the plantation sector.
"The country's construction sector is also facing a serious shortage of workers that has caused major construction projects to fall behind schedule.
"It is estimated that the manufacturing sector is facing a 40 per cent manpower shortage.
"Hotels have submitted applications to employ foreign workers, but most are waiting for approval even after two months.
"Service providers for hotels, such as cleaning contractors, which also employ foreign workers, are having difficulty getting a quota since other industries are being prioritised due to supply shortages at source countries.
"The restaurant industry, which is short of almost 40,000 workers, is in critical condition.
"Some have closed down permanently, and some have had to close down their branches.
"Some employers are going to the extent of poaching workers by offering them higher wages."
He urged the government to negotiate with source countries to control and cap the recruitment fees imposed by agents.
This, he said, was because the fees would eventually be borne by Malaysian employers under the zero-recruitment fee policy.
"MEF hopes that the government would consider opening more quarantine centres and subsidise employers for the quarantine expenses of workers.
"MEF also hopes that the time taken for foreign workers to arrive can be shortened.
"The process of applying for new foreign workers is estimated to take up to six months, before a foreign worker may start work."
The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) urged the government to clearly communicate the reasons for rejecting or not processing foreign workers' applications so that employers could quickly rectify the matter.
FMM president Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai said employers should be allowed to continue with the application process at the point where it got cut off, rather than having to restart the process.
Besides calling for greater clarity and consistency in the application process, Soh also requested that the 30-day mandatory advertisement period in MyFutureJobs be shortened.
On the seven-day quarantine for foreign workers, Soh said the government should allow companies to take workers to their accommodation facilities for quarantine, testing and medical check-ups, instead of doing so at government-approved quarantine centres, which are mainly located in the Klang Valley.
This, he said, would shorten the waiting period to process work permits.