Dr S Subramaniam says the amnesty programme must not be mistaken as a 'free ride' and employers must be prepared for their foreign workers to be sent back after two years
KUALA LUMPUR: Foreign workers who have just been legalised as well as their employers have been warned that the 6P amnesty programme is not a “free ride” to work in Malaysia but just a temporary measure.
The government’s end goal is still to reduce foreign workers in the country and many will be sent back after the two-year period currently given to illegal foreign workers, Human Resources Minister Dr S Subramaniam said.
He advised employers to keep that in mind and take steps to ready themselves of the impending reduction of the foreign workforce.
“People have to realise that after this legalisation, it is not going to be a permanent change of government policy. It is temporary. At the end of the two years, many won’t be given continuity (to work),” Subramaniam told FMT.
He said many of the workers that are now allowed to work will have to be sent back to their countries after two years.
“Beyond that, they (employers) have to prepare and restructure themselves, to ensure they can rely on locals and other possible mechanism so that they will reduce dependancy on foreign labour,” he added.
Subramaniam said the government’s move to allow foreign workers in 10 new sectors and 11 sub-sectors is unprecedented and employers also must not expect that to be continued.
Earlier this week, Home Ministry secretary-general Mahmood Adam announced the decision of the government to relax conditions for legalisation of illegal immigrants under the 6P exercise. (The 10 new sectors open to immigrants are croupier, mining/quarrying, mangrove wood, stall/cafe/ canteen/catering, restaurant, fastfood, grasscutter, newspaper vendor, house and vehicle cleaners and car workshop workers.
The 11 sub-sectors in the service industry now open for them to be legally employed are scrapmetal, cargo handling, welfare home, spa/reflexology, hotel, golf caddy, laundry, barber, goldsmith, wholesale and retail and textile business.)
‘Chopping block’
According to Subramaniam, those in the new sectors take up an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 of the total 1.3million illegal foreigners that have been registered under the 6P programme.
“But after two years, this is when the chopping block must be put in. When their visas expire, they will be sent home. So both the worker and employer should know that from today itself, that the government is not opening up for good,” he said, adding that the process to control the workers then would be the greatest challenge for the government.
However, the minister said the traditional sectors where foreign workers are allowed to work, such as plantations and factories, will be retained.
Asked about a recent report alleging that Home Ministry’s sudden move to do-away with the requirement for approval by the Human Resources Ministry had “totally bypassed” his ministry, Subramaniam said his ministry gave the approval for the decision.
FMT had reported that the issue caused confusion when 6P agents received news that there is no longer a need for a JobsMalaysia (formerly known as Jobs Clearing System) certificate issued by the Human Resources Ministry.
Previously only with the JobsMalaysia certificate can a foreign worker be “legalised” by the Home Ministry.
“The Home Ministry wants to resolve this legalisation process as quickly as possible and they want to cut down on the number of steps involved so that it will easier, so we agreed in principle,” said Subramaniam.
He added that there are still ongoing discussions on how the Human Resources Ministry can keep track of the documentation of legalised workers despite the abolishing of the JobsMalaysia certificate requirement.
“We still want a record of all these people for monitoring purposes and managing these numbers.We will work out something so that our needs and their needs are fulfilled,” he said.
However, Subramaniam said since the whole idea of 6P is to first legalise all workers before the greater process of gradually sending them back takes place, he admitted that having the JobsMalaysia cert may be redundant.
JobsMalaysia’s function is to ensure that human resources, both local and foreign, are utilised most optimally. It will ensure that employers exhaust all means to obtain local work before approving foreigners to work, in accordance to certain ratios and quotas decided by the government.
He said after this “legalisation” is over, any new intake of foreign workers, or permit renewals, will still need to go through the normal process of recruitment via JobsMalaysia. Currently, foreign worker intake is freezed till Jan 15.
Asked on comment on the daily “chaotic” situation at the Putrajaya immigration centres, Subramaniam said it is understandable due to the huge numbers of foreign workers and the limited number of centres open.
“The deputy prime minister is aware and they should sort it out quickly so that the process is much smoother. That is virtually expected because the numbers are huge,” he added.
Chaos at immigration centre
Yesterday, FMT reported that the Putrajaya immigration centre was in chaotic state as employers, 6P agents, and foreign workers rushed en-masse to go through the legalisation process.
Later yesterday, the Home Ministry announced that more centres, which will be now run 24-hours, will be opened.
Bernama online reported that only 120,000 of the total of 1.3 million illegal foreign workers in the country have registered under the 6P programme. The deadline is on Jan 10.
Under the 6P programme, announced last June, illegal foreign workers will either be legalised or deported without punishment. The six Ps represent the Malay words for registration, legalisation, amnesty, monitoring, enforcement and deportation.
By Aug 31, according to Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, 1,016,908 legal foreign workers and 1,303,126 illegals have been registered using the biometric system under the first phase of 6P. The second phase—legalisation—began in October.
The programme has been controversial from the start. There have been numerous complaints that it is open to exploitation by unscrupulous parties.
Critics said it has spawned bogus agents, opened the opportunity for management companies to overcharge their clients and encouraged legal foreign workers to abscond from their employers.
KUALA LUMPUR: Foreign workers who have just been legalised as well as their employers have been warned that the 6P amnesty programme is not a “free ride” to work in Malaysia but just a temporary measure.The government’s end goal is still to reduce foreign workers in the country and many will be sent back after the two-year period currently given to illegal foreign workers, Human Resources Minister Dr S Subramaniam said.
He advised employers to keep that in mind and take steps to ready themselves of the impending reduction of the foreign workforce.
“People have to realise that after this legalisation, it is not going to be a permanent change of government policy. It is temporary. At the end of the two years, many won’t be given continuity (to work),” Subramaniam told FMT.
He said many of the workers that are now allowed to work will have to be sent back to their countries after two years.
“Beyond that, they (employers) have to prepare and restructure themselves, to ensure they can rely on locals and other possible mechanism so that they will reduce dependancy on foreign labour,” he added.
Subramaniam said the government’s move to allow foreign workers in 10 new sectors and 11 sub-sectors is unprecedented and employers also must not expect that to be continued.
Earlier this week, Home Ministry secretary-general Mahmood Adam announced the decision of the government to relax conditions for legalisation of illegal immigrants under the 6P exercise. (The 10 new sectors open to immigrants are croupier, mining/quarrying, mangrove wood, stall/cafe/ canteen/catering, restaurant, fastfood, grasscutter, newspaper vendor, house and vehicle cleaners and car workshop workers.
The 11 sub-sectors in the service industry now open for them to be legally employed are scrapmetal, cargo handling, welfare home, spa/reflexology, hotel, golf caddy, laundry, barber, goldsmith, wholesale and retail and textile business.)
‘Chopping block’
According to Subramaniam, those in the new sectors take up an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 of the total 1.3million illegal foreigners that have been registered under the 6P programme.
“But after two years, this is when the chopping block must be put in. When their visas expire, they will be sent home. So both the worker and employer should know that from today itself, that the government is not opening up for good,” he said, adding that the process to control the workers then would be the greatest challenge for the government.
However, the minister said the traditional sectors where foreign workers are allowed to work, such as plantations and factories, will be retained.
Asked about a recent report alleging that Home Ministry’s sudden move to do-away with the requirement for approval by the Human Resources Ministry had “totally bypassed” his ministry, Subramaniam said his ministry gave the approval for the decision.
FMT had reported that the issue caused confusion when 6P agents received news that there is no longer a need for a JobsMalaysia (formerly known as Jobs Clearing System) certificate issued by the Human Resources Ministry.
Previously only with the JobsMalaysia certificate can a foreign worker be “legalised” by the Home Ministry.
“The Home Ministry wants to resolve this legalisation process as quickly as possible and they want to cut down on the number of steps involved so that it will easier, so we agreed in principle,” said Subramaniam.
He added that there are still ongoing discussions on how the Human Resources Ministry can keep track of the documentation of legalised workers despite the abolishing of the JobsMalaysia certificate requirement.
“We still want a record of all these people for monitoring purposes and managing these numbers.We will work out something so that our needs and their needs are fulfilled,” he said.
However, Subramaniam said since the whole idea of 6P is to first legalise all workers before the greater process of gradually sending them back takes place, he admitted that having the JobsMalaysia cert may be redundant.
JobsMalaysia’s function is to ensure that human resources, both local and foreign, are utilised most optimally. It will ensure that employers exhaust all means to obtain local work before approving foreigners to work, in accordance to certain ratios and quotas decided by the government.
He said after this “legalisation” is over, any new intake of foreign workers, or permit renewals, will still need to go through the normal process of recruitment via JobsMalaysia. Currently, foreign worker intake is freezed till Jan 15.
Asked on comment on the daily “chaotic” situation at the Putrajaya immigration centres, Subramaniam said it is understandable due to the huge numbers of foreign workers and the limited number of centres open.
“The deputy prime minister is aware and they should sort it out quickly so that the process is much smoother. That is virtually expected because the numbers are huge,” he added.
Chaos at immigration centre
Yesterday, FMT reported that the Putrajaya immigration centre was in chaotic state as employers, 6P agents, and foreign workers rushed en-masse to go through the legalisation process.
Later yesterday, the Home Ministry announced that more centres, which will be now run 24-hours, will be opened.
Bernama online reported that only 120,000 of the total of 1.3 million illegal foreign workers in the country have registered under the 6P programme. The deadline is on Jan 10.
Under the 6P programme, announced last June, illegal foreign workers will either be legalised or deported without punishment. The six Ps represent the Malay words for registration, legalisation, amnesty, monitoring, enforcement and deportation.
By Aug 31, according to Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, 1,016,908 legal foreign workers and 1,303,126 illegals have been registered using the biometric system under the first phase of 6P. The second phase—legalisation—began in October.
The programme has been controversial from the start. There have been numerous complaints that it is open to exploitation by unscrupulous parties.
Critics said it has spawned bogus agents, opened the opportunity for management companies to overcharge their clients and encouraged legal foreign workers to abscond from their employers.
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