KUALA LUMPUR: The number of foreign workers in the country has yet to reach the ceiling set by the Economy Ministry at 2.58 million.
Home Minister Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said Malaysia still had about 400,000 spots left in the foreign worker intake quota.
He said the ceiling set by the Economy Ministry for the country's workforce was 17.2 million, with 15 per cent, or 2.58 million, allocated for foreign workers.
"Based on the work passes issued by the Immigration Department, we have approximately 400,000 spots remaining before we reach the 2.58 million ceiling by December.
"There are two categories of foreign workers: low-skilled (3D) workers, such as those involved in harvesting palm oil fruit, bricklaying or the manufacturing sector, and expatriates, who number 120,183 out of the 17.2 million target workforce, representing almost one per cent.
"For the 3D sector, which still has a deficit of 400,000 workers, this issue must be addressed through policy. If we freeze the intake now, the palm oil fruit cannot be harvested, resulting in a loss of RM2.8 billion annually.
"If local workers were available, companies would certainly hire them. This is the reality when we engage with the labour sector. This is the same legacy when you were part of the government.
"Our regulation is to set a ceiling while we 'substitute' and not make all workers dependent on the foreign sector. That's why innovation and automation are necessary," he said in response to Dr Abd Ghani Ahmad (PN-Jerlun), who asked about proactive measures to ensure foreign labour does not threaten the country's sovereignty.
Meanwhile, in response to the initial question from Datuk Mohd Shahar Abdullah (BN-Paya Besar), Saifuddin said that as of Oct 31, there were 120,183 expatriates in the country.
Shahar asked about the number and percentage of expatriates migrating to Malaysia, categorised by country of origin and their economic contributions from 2019 to 2023.
Saifuddin said these expatriates cover all categories of employment, including services and the IT sector, among others.
He added that there were 27,460 expatriates from China, followed by 23,131 from India, 9,302 from the Philippines, 8,739 from Japan and 8,333 from Indonesia.
"The top five countries account for 64 per cent of the total expatriates in the country, while other countries account for 36 per cent (43,218)," he said.
He added that expatriates were classified into three categories based on their salary ranges; those earning RM10,000 and above, those earning between RM5,000 and RM9,999, and those earning between RM3,000 and RM4,999.
Saifuddin said the significant economic contribution of expatriates in Malaysia was estimated to impact the economy by RM75 billion, which accounts for 4.8 per cent of the country's total GDP, according to the Malaysia Productivity Corporation.
"In addition to this, the Inland Revenue Board reported that it collected up to RM100 million in income tax from this group of expatriates, further underscoring their contribution to the nation's economy."