I was the Secretary General of the Master Builders Association, Malaysia for 9 years. From my long experience in the construction contracting industry, I know for sure, we need a lot more foreign workers especially after the Covid 19 pandemic lockdown. Many construction projects were delayed in the last 3 years during the Covid 19 pandemic.

Besides the construction industry, all the other industries such as the plantations, all the manufacturers of various products, Restaurants, house servants, etc. need more workers.

The current rules and regulations to employ foreign workers is so cumbersome. As a result, many civil servants are tempted to accept bribes. Recently several officers in the Human Resource Ministry were arrested for accepting bribes. Due to labour shortage, many desperate employers are willing to offer bribes to get foreign workers.    

As of 2020, the number of immigrants in Malaysia amounted to approximately 3.48 million. As one of the biggest economies in Southeast Asia, Malaysia is an attractive destination for workers from neighboring countries seeking better wages and employment.

Contractors’ difficulties:

In order to summit the lowest tender price to secure the contract, he must assume that he has no difficulty in getting workers to complete the construction within the stipulated time. Invariably, he could not complete the construction within the stipulated time due to labour shortage and suffer liquidated penalty.

Government should create a new labour supply department:

Our Government must realise that we need more foreign workers to increase our production to improve our economy rapidly

As I said earlier, the current rules and regulations are so cumbersome our Government should create a new labour supply department to overcome all the rules and regulations imposed by the Government to get foreign workers ready for employers.

For example, when a construction contractor has secured a contract, the Government new labour supply department can arrange to supply labour as soon as possible.

Our Government should accept Rohingya refugees to resolve our labour shortage. The United Nations has described the Rohingya as “the most persecuted minority in the world.”

The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic minority group who have lived for centuries in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar - formerly known as Burma. Despite living in Myanmar for many generations, the Rohingya are not recognized as an official ethnic group and have been denied citizenship since 1982, making them the world’s largest stateless population.

In August 2017, armed attacks, massive scale violence, and serious human rights violations forced thousands of Rohingya to flee their homes in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. Many walked for days through jungles and undertook dangerous sea journeys across the Bay of Bengal to reach safety in Bangladesh. Now, more than 900,000 people have found safety in the Cox Bazar’s region of Bangladesh which is now home to the world’s largest refugee camp.

The United Nations has described the Rohingya as “the most persecuted minority in the world.”