PETALING JAYA: The human resources ministry intends to introduce identity cards for each sector to address the problem of foreign workers switching from one job to another arbitrarily.
Human resources minister M Saravanan said the high demand in the plantation sector, following the increase in oil palm prices, had caused estate owners to pay more, resulting in workers switching to the agricultural sector.
“We are now trying to resolve this problem,” Bernama reported him as saying when met after officiating the Perak Jaminkerja Keluarga Malaysia Career Carnival 2022 at the Tapah Youth and Sports Complex today.
He said the introduction of the identity card system, according to the various sectors, would ensure that no employer misused the employee registration.
“Another problem I see is that the levy rate for the agricultural sector is cheaper.
“This has made many employers in other sectors to bring in foreign workers through the agricultural channel because it is cheaper.”
Saravanan said the introduction of the identity card system could help address this issue and facilitate easier enforcement by the immigration department and police.
On Friday, works minister Fadillah Yusof said that the increase in palm oil prices in the plantation sector had attracted workers from other sectors. He said this had affected the construction sector after their workers moved to the plantation sector.
Fadillah said this had also led to delays in the completion of the Pan Borneo Highway project.
Saravanan also said he was confident that all issues involved in the delay of entry of foreign workers into the country could be resolved by the end of this month.
On the two-day Perak Jaminkerja Keluarga Malaysia Career Carnival, which started yesterday, Saravanan said 8,615 jobs were on offer.
A total of 374 people were interviewed yesterday alone. Of that number, 53 were successful in securing jobs. Another 140 managed to advance to the second round of interviews by the 32 employers taking part in this carnival, he added.
