Employers to Cover Costs of Bringing in Foreign Workers

According to Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, employers who want to hire foreign workers will have to cover all fees involved in bringing them into Malaysia.

"The fees include levy payment and the cost of quarantine on arrival at the country's entrance points," he said at a press conference.

Seven-day quarantine for foreign workers

According to him, foreign workers must undergo a seven-day mandatory quarantine period at a government-certified quarantine centre. They can only enter through the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), klia2, and Sabah and Sarawak entrance points, which will be announced later.

On October 22, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that the Covid-19 Pandemic Management Special Committee had approved the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the entry of foreign workers to suit the demands of the plantation sector and other industries.

The foreign workers' SOP will cover four phases:

1. Pre-departure, 

2. Arrival, 

3. Post-arrival (quarantine period), and 

4. Post-quarantine.

Return Recalibration Programme

As of October 21, 147,705 illegal immigrants had enrolled for the Return Recalibration Program, with 124,423 already returned to their countries of origin.

Hamzah said that the government had generated RM71 million via compounds collected. He added that special counters had been set up to assist the foreign workers' return via multiple exit ports, such as:

• KLIA,

• klia2,

• Stulang Laut, and 

• Pasir Gudang.

In the case of the Labour Recalibration Program, 212,926 illegal immigrants applied for legalisation as foreign workers. 34,318 of them were successful, and 20,889 failed.

The minister said the Immigration Department is still verifying 157,719 illegal immigrants. Those who do not meet the requirements will be sent home automatically under the Return Recalibration Program.

Foreign workers must undergo a seven-day mandatory quarantine period at a government-certified quarantine centre.

According to him, the age limit aspect is one of the causes for failure under the Labour Recalibration Program. Individuals who want to work in Malaysia must be under 45 and can work until they are 55.

As of October 20, RM106 million had been collected under the Labour Recalibration Programme, with revenue collection reaching RM4.15 million, including recalibration fees, levy payments, work passes, and visa processing fees.

The construction sector had the highest number of registration (122,075), followed by the manufacturing sector (65,484) and the agricultural sector (12,003).

The Labor Recalibration Program will end on December 31, and it is open to all sectors except those where worker recruitment had previously been halted.

Source: The Edge Markets

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