Ekonomi

Published: Sunday February 27, 2011 MYT 6:25:00 PM

Govt approves recruitment of 45,000 foreign workers

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has agreed to approve the recruitment of 45,000 foreign workers to meet the demand in 13 small-scale business sectors, which are currently facing manpower shortage.

Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said the approval was given after the government took into account the problem faced by the sectors concerned such as restaurants, grocery shops and the textile industry which had difficulty to recruiting local workers.

"They had applied to the prime minister (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak) and to my ministry through the Malaysian Associated Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MAICCI) for the government to approve the recruitment of 90,000 foreign workers.

"Following discussions, the government has now agreed to approve the entry of 45,000 foreign workers into 13 business sectors to meet the initial requirement so that they can continue operating."

The minister was speaking to reporters on Sunday after attending the official opening of the renovated Wisma Persatuan Pengusaha Restoran India Malaysia (Primas) by former MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, who is now Special Envoy on Infrastructure to India and South Asia, here.

Dr Subramaniam said the government was still in discussions to distribute the 45,000 foreign workers according to the 13 business sectors and a decision was expected to be made within a month.

He said most of the foreign workers were from India.

The six-storey Wisma Primas, located in Jalan Dato' Haji Eusoff here, has been renovated at a cost of RM3mil to provide more facilities.

Apart from being the management centre for the association, the building has training facilities for restaurant workers of members of the association. - Bernama