Malaysian govt wants to cut out third parties in foreign recruitment

The Malaysian government has advised the employers not to make any payment through intermediaries or third parties for the purpose of speeding up the application process as its Cabinet recently approved the entry of foreign workers for all employment sectors.

"This is to prevent fraud by irresponsible parties," said Malaysian Minister for Human Resources M. Saravanan in a media statement on recruitment and employment of foreign workers.

The Malaysian Minister also reminded employers who want to employ foreign workers to submit their own applications and based on the actual needs for foreign workers.

Employers who use the services of private employment agencies must also ensure that the agency is registered and has a license certified by the Department of Manpower Peninsular Malaysia under the Private Employment Agencies Act 1981, according to the statement.

The entry of foreign workers for all employment sectors was approved by the Malaysian Cabinet meeting on December 10, last year.

This entry will be opened to all sectors allowed for the employment of foreign workers namely agriculture, manufacturing, services, mining and quarrying, construction and domestic servants.

Previously, approval was given for the entry of 32,000 foreign workers for the plantation sector with special exemptions.

All these admissions must comply with the Standing Operating Procedure (SOP) for the admission of foreign workers which was approved by the COVID-19 Ministerial Quartet Meeting on 14 December 2021, according to the media statement.

This SOP includes four phases namely pre-release, on arrival, post-arrival i.e. quarantine and post-quarantine period.

Accordingly, the Minister will make an announcement in the near future on the date of applications that can be submitted by employers online for the process of hiring foreign workers for each sector of employment allowed from the Source Country.