Economy in the hands of 6.7 m foreign workers

(Bernama) – Malaysians should not take lightly the influx of foreign workers as the latter might be able to control the country’s economy if continued to be given the opportunity, said Human Resources Minister Richard Riot.

He said the matter should instead be viewed seriously as the situation was worrying, because there were an estimated 6.7 million foreign workers in this country but only 2.1 million of them had valid work permits.

“The actual number of foreign workers in this country may be bigger, based on the premise that a foreign worker with a valid work permit would bring in at least another without a permit.

“At the moment, foreign migrant workers may be monopolising the semi-skilled jobs in certain sectors like agriculture and construction, but who knows one day they may monopolise jobs in the professional field,” he said.

Riot was speaking at a news conference after witnessing the convocation ceremony of the Manpower Department’s Training Institute (ILTJM), here, Tuesday.

He said Malaysians must not be too choosy about jobs in order to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign workers, while local employers needed to be fair by offering reasonable salaries to locals.

At the convocation, 5,455 graduates received their diplomas and certificates with 4,516 of them from the ILJTM in Peninsular Malaysia and the rest from the ILJTM in Sabah, Sarawak and the Federal Territory of Labuan.