Restrictions on Indon workers eased following building industrys request
The government has eased restrictions on the employment of Indonesian workers in the construction sector less than a month after industry representatives warned of dire consequences if departing illegal workers are not replaced immediately.
According to Immigration Department spokesperson Ahmad Shukri Abdul Majid, the government has agreed to consider approving permits for employers to bring in Indonesian workers.
Ahmad said the employers are required to be more responsible towards their employees by providing shelter and paying their wages on time.
"Employers should also not use agents in hiring foreign workers, where possible. However, agents can be used in hiring domestic workers," he said in a telephone interview.
Meanwhile Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM) vice-president Patrick Wong (photo) welcomed the government's move to reconsider the earlier ban on the recruitment of Indonesian workers except in plantations and as domestic helpers.
"The [nationality] of the workers depend on the contractors. Employers prefer to hire Indonesian and Thai workers," he said when contacted.
Wong said the home affairs ministry has issued a large number of permits for employers to bring in foreign labour to replace illegal workers who left the country in the lead-up to the implementation of strict new immigration laws.
"So far, about 20,000 to 30,000 permits have been approved," said Wong in reference to the 'green lane' scheme set up by the ministry to expedite work permit procedures.
Four-month amnesty
The construction industry has been hard hit by the government's zeal in reducing the illegal immigrant population in the country.
During the four-month amnesty announced by the government prior to the implementation of the immigration laws on Aug 1, some 300,000 illegal immigrants left the country en masse . Out of this group, 42.4 percent were employed as construction workers.
Meanwhile, Wong said it is unlikely that employers will be using the work permits that they have secured to rehire workers who had left recently.
"Employers generally prefer not to do this because of higher salaries that these workers will demand," he added.
Under the amended Immigration Act, illegal immigrants found guilty of an offence are liable to a maximum fine of RM10,000, a jail term not exceeding five years and up to six strokes of the rotan (cane).
Employers of undocumented workers are also liable to fines between RM10,000 and RM50,000 per employee and a jail term of up to one year, while employers who hire more than five illegal immigrants are liable to mandatory whipping and jail terms not exceeding five years.
Last Saturday, four illegal immigrants of Indonesian nationality were found guilty of illegal entry into Malaysia and sentenced to six months jail and two strokes of the cane each.
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