In an online discussion today, many employers also criticised the recalibration programme for undocumented foreign workers, arguing that it has failed to achieve its goals.
The foreign workers’ task force, comprising 48 business associations, said thousands of workers who left the country at the start of the pandemic have not been able to return due to travel restrictions and expired work visas.
In the last 20 months, they said almost 600,000 foreign workers with and without valid work permits had left the country.
They urged the government to consider approving 300,000 new foreign workers to meet the needs of the affected industries.
They said the manufacturing sector needed 100,000 workers, cleaning services needed 68,000, plantations 37,000, restaurants 30,000, agriculture 25,000 while other sub-sectors needed 30,000.
They also asked the government to retain the current levy structure and to have a uniform levy fee for all the sectors.
Abdul Malik Abdullah from the Federation of Malaysian Business Associations (FMBA) said the government should provide a 25% discount on foreign worker levy for 2021 and 2022, saying this had been promised to employers.
Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) president Syed Hussain Syed Husman said the government must accept that there are certain jobs, especially those in the 3D (dangerous, dirty, difficult) category, that locals simply do not want to do.
“Malaysians have progressed, and there are some jobs they just won’t do (despite the unemployment rate). We have to accept that in certain areas, we need foreign workers,” he said, adding that the cost of hiring one foreign worker was three times that of hiring a local.
Maheswary Ramasamy, representing the Malaysian Indian Textiles and General Store Association (Mita), said businesses were suffering from a severe shortage of manpower, after their workers who went back to India were unable to return.
“The recalibration programme is open for five sectors. At least open up the recalibration programme so that undocumented workers can be legalised and be employed by companies that need them.”
Dhalif Singh Goman who was representing businesses in Labuan claimed 50% of businesses there may close down if the government continues with the foreign worker freeze.
The government has said the freeze on foreign workers, including domestic workers, will stay in place until the end of the year.
Human resources minister M Saravanan previously said any official decision on the intake of these workers would be announced after discussions by the National Security Council (MKN) with the human resources, home affairs, health and other related ministries.