The Home Ministry said today that it has issued 1,163,194 work permits to foreign workers, with the bulk of these being for factory workers.

In a written reply to Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah) at the Dewan Rakyat, it said Indonesians received 798,803 permits, followed by Bangladeshis (102,869), Nepalis (79,543) and Indians (47,349).

The list includes workers from other countries like Thailand, Cambodia, Burma, the Philippines, Vietnam, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

They are mainly employed in five sectors - factories, estates, homes (as domestic workers), construction and the service industry.

Trade officers

Responding to Fong's query on the criteria for 'skilled' and 'unskilled' foreign workers, the ministry said it does not differentiate between the two categories.

"All of them are categorised as general workers when given the visit (temporary work) pass," the ministry said.

However, the ministry said another group comprises 'trade officers' (pegawai dagang), made up of workers with professional qualifications. They receive a hire pass as a work permit.

'Trade officers generally serve in the education, manufacturing, service, trade, petroleum and construction sectors," it said.

The ministry has registered 32, 512 trade officers up to June 12, the majority of whom are from India, Japan, China and Britain.