KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 5): The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) has cautioned against a minister's proposal to impose compounds of up to RM30,000 per worker on companies that fail to provide jobs for the foreign workers that they recruit, saying the authorities must first investigate the matter.

"It would be unfair for the authorities to immediately place the blame on employers without proper probe into the matter," said FMM president Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai in a statement on Friday.

Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said on Thursday that the proposed fines commensurate with the offences committed that could also cover the costs of repatriating foreign workers, currently being borne by the government.

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“We must ensure that fines are imposed against these companies so they won’t dare to bring in foreign workers if they cannot provide them jobs. This creates a bad image of the country,” said Johari, who presented the proposal in the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Soh, in his statement, noted that manufacturers are subjected to strict requirements from the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry as the regulatory agency for the manufacturing sector, where employers must show proof of orders and demand from customers as justification for the number of foreign workers applied.

“These requirements ensure that the industry does not abuse the system and bring in excessive number of workers. In fact, many manufacturers who had applied for foreign workers after the freeze on applications was lifted in February 2022 have held back bringing in their full approved quota numbers after experiencing subsequent slowdown in demand as they would not be able to sustain these workers,” he said.

Soh also highlighted unscrupulous agents who would bring in workers under false promises of jobs awaiting them and engage in fraudulent activities in the recruitment process by falsifying applications to bring in the workers using genuine company credentials.

"As such, the major weaknesses in the entire recruitment process must be tackled and remedied immediately and with action taken on the culprits in such incidences," he said.

Soh pointed out that FMM has been calling for a more effective foreign worker management through a single ministry and single end-to-end online system, to ensure a holistic, fair and transparent administration of foreign workers in the country.

"No other ministry or agency should get involved in the process of employer eligibility in the recruitment process other than the single ministry in charge, which should be the Ministry of Human Resources," he added. 

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