“It’s not the government that wanted to bring in the workers. And the government listened to the demand of employers who stated that their companies couldn’t function due to the lack of manpower,” he said in Shah Alam in response to media questions.
The government has been criticised for not first solving the problem of illegal migrant labour, estimated at more than two million, before bringing in more foreign workers.
Criticisms have also arisen about a higher new levy to be imposed on businesses that recruit foreign labour.
“The government’s concern (on the matter) is not because we want to collect levy charges but because we want to fulfill the demands of the market,” said Zahid, quoted by Malaysiakini.
“Don’t blame me, don’t blame the government, don’t blame the Home Ministry and don’t blame the Human Resource Ministry,” he said, according to the report.
He also urged the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers to find out from its members about workers needed for the industry.
FMM had said yesterday: “Manufacturers have not specifically requested for Bangladeshi workers.”
Zahid responded by saying: “Yes, they (FMM) have never applied for this but their members were the ones who applied to the Human Resource Ministry, the foreign worker division under the Immigration Department, and the unskilled foreign worker division under the Home Ministry.
“I hope they can check with their members whether they had made the applications through these three agencies,” he was quoted as saying.
Zahid said the government did not intend to limit job opportunities of Malaysians, but “Malaysians simply do not want to work in certain sectors. How many would want to work in the plantation sector? How many would want to work under the sun and in the rain in the construction sector? How many would want to work in the dirty, dangerous and difficult sector? No one.”
Last year Zahid announced that 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers would be brought to Malaysia over the next three years for employment in construction, services, manufacturing and agriculture and plantations.
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