KOTA KINABALU: The shortage of labour in Sabah is mainly due to restrictive immigration policies, reluctance of locals to take up labour-intensive jobs and the high costs of hiring foreign workers.
Sabah Institute for Development Studies (IDS) chairperson Datuk Adeline Leong said the issue had become a critical challenge for the development of Sabah.
"The reliance of Sabah's economy on foreign labour is very significant, which is around 40 per cent, especially in the plantation sector.
"Sabah's plantation sector has always been vital for the state's socioeconomic profile, and the labour shortage has hit this sector hard, particularly since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"The shortages of foreign workers have also led to a significant decline in crop production, with many planters unable to harvest their crop.
"The construction and manufacturing industries are also facing severe labour shortages, resulting in delays and higher costs for building projects and factories are unable to meet their production targets," she said during the forum on labour shortages in Sabah at Wisma IDS here.
Leong suggested that among solutions would be to relax immigration policies for specific industries and to ensure that foreign workers were treated fairly and with dignity.
"The well-being of our foreign workers must also be taken care of, and we must take steps to protect their rights and interests that are in line with international Labour standards."
At the same time, she said that to have local workers in plantation, construction and manufacturing sectors, stakeholders would have to invest in training programmes, conducive environment and to provide better wages.
"One of the main reasons our locals are willing to work on farms abroad, such as Australia and South Korea, is that the pay is higher compared to our own country."
Another solution, she said, was to invest in automation and technology to reduce the reliance on manual labour.
Present at the forum were Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan and IDS chief executive officer Datuk Ramzah Dambul.