'Is Presma serious about recruitment drive?'

A frustrated job-seeker has claimed that the Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma) is not sincere about recruiting local workers in its on-going recruitment drive.

Mohamed Ali Abdul Razak, 47, had even filed a police report against Presma on March 29 at the Bukit Mertajam station, he is claiming that the recruitment drive is "pure propaganda" to deceive the government.

He said some members of Presma have been merely displaying banners "for show, with no real intention to recruit local workers" despite the vacuum created by departing foreign workers.

This, he alleged, was intended to create a desperate situation to pressure the government to allow foreign workers to remain.

This was a reference to the ban on the hiring of new foreign workers since January last year, as well as the freeze on renewal of permits for those who have been in Malaysia for more than five years.

Elaborating on his difficulty in landing a job, he said he has been applying at several Indian Muslim restaurants in Penang since last September, but was told that they had enough workers.

“One even told me that the recruitment banner was being displayed at Presma’s request, but that the restaurant owners cannot afford to pay the wages of local workers,” he alleged.

A father of 10, he has been looking for a job as a restaurant supervisor with a pay of RM2,000-2,500, but to no avail.

When contacted, Presma president Noorul Hassan Saul Hameed dismissed the allegation, saying "we are a very responsible association".

"This makes a mockery of an issue that is important to us," he said.

While he acknowledged that a few members may have deviated from the association’s objectives, he said that any complaints should be directed to the headquarters in Kuala Lumpur for investigation.

He also said that those who cannot find jobs in restaurants in their locality, may contact the headquarters to be placed in another location if they are serious about getting a job.

More time wanted

Several restaurants nationwide are facing a shortage of workers as locals are said to be reluctant to take up jobs in the sector.

Presma has offered 25,000 jobs for locals at a pay range of RM800-1,300 for assistants and RM1,500-2,500 for cooks and supervisors.

However, the response has been lukewarm, with only about 250 taking up the offer to date.

This has prompted Presma to appeal to the government to reconsider the freeze on permits.

“We are asking for an extension of permits for foreign workers, so that we have more time to adjust to the new business environment,” he explained.

The association has about 2,000 members, who run 6,000 outlets among them.