According to Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar, 152,158 foreign workers are scheduled to come to the country.
He stated that this is to satisfy the needs of local companies that have had difficulty filling vacancies owing to a shortage of local human resources.
Sivakumar further stated that around 1.83 million immigrant workers are already in the nation on temporary employment visit visas (PLKS).
“The Recalibration Programme has also registered 747,167 previously undocumented migrants, who were issued new work permits,” he said.
Datuk Awang Hashim (PN-Pendang) inquired about the amount of foreign workers in Malaysia, as well as any government initiatives to lessen dependency on foreign workers and reskill the local workforce.
In response, Sivakumar stated that the government will continue to work to incentivize local firms to implement digitization, mechanisation, and automation in their processes.
“(This) will increase skilled worker demand. In hopes that it will in turn incentivise more local workers to seek upskilling,”.
He also stated that the government was looking into the potential of offering incentives to local firms to recruit locals.
Sivakumar revealed that the application and approval of quotas for immigrant workers had been postponed until an unspecified date.
