PUTRAJAYA (March 22): The Ministry of Home Affairs said on Friday that employers cannot apply for additional foreign workers, following the government’s announcement earlier this month that it would cancel active quotas with unused allocations after March 31. 

At a press conference, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail reiterated that active quotas, for which levies have been paid but visas with reference (VDR) have not been issued by the end of March, will be nullified. He further noted that the permitted ceiling for foreign workers in the country stands at 2.5 million, with the current number of foreign workers at 2.1 million. 

When asked whether employers can apply for the unused active quotas, Saifuddin said: "They cannot apply." 

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However, he mentioned that any shortage in foreign workers will be tackled through the Workforce Recalibration Programme.

"We currently have 2.1 million foreign workers, and the deficit of 400,000 needed in the country will be addressed through the Workforce Recalibration Programme," he explained.

This initiative, introduced by the government, serves as a targeted employment strategy to meet the demand for foreign workers in the country. 

It is a programme to regularise illegal immigrants in the country as foreign workers legally employed by qualified employers -  including in the manufacturing, construction, agriculture, plantation, mining and quarrying, and security sectors - subject to strict conditions decided by the government through the Malaysian Immigration Department and the Ministry of Home Affairs. 

Saiffudin’s announcement came after criticisms from business associations such as the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia and the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) over the government's sudden "restrictive" foreign workers policy, when it decided, with just one month's notice, to cut short the validity period of those holding active quotas with approved VDRs and allowing them to bring in workers on those quotas up till May 31 only.

FMM said that the government's inconsistency in policy decisions would negatively impact the local business community, potentially harming export orders and undermining confidence among foreign investors in Malaysia.

But the government is not budging on the deadline, which remains on May 31. This means the government will halt the entry of foreign workers under active quota balances into the formal sector from June 1.

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