Malaysian manufacturers for less dependence on workers from India, Indonesia, Bangladesh

KUALA LUMPUR: A top organisation of Malaysian manufacturers today underlined the need to reduce the dependence on foreign workers if the country is to become a high-income economy.

Malaysia heavily relies on foreign workers from India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Myanmar in sectors such as construction, plantation and services. Even housemaids are sourced from countries like Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines.

The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers, the country's largest private sector economic organisation, asked the government to frame long-term measures to minimise dependence on foreign worker.

The federation has also extended it's support to government's decision to reopen 10 sectors and 11 sub-sectors previously frozen for illegal foreign workers amnesty programme as a step to overcome the shortage of manpower supply.

"We view the move to limit the employment period of workers and legalised foreign workers for these sectors to two years as reasonable even though the sectors are not directly related to the manufacturing sector," the statement said.

The 10 sectors are include croupier, mining-quarrying, mangrove wood, canteen-catering, restaurant, fastfood, grasscutter, newspaper vendor, house and vehicle cleaners and car workshop workers.

The 11 sub-sectors are scrapmetal, cargo handling, welfare home, spa-reflexology, hotel, golf caddy, laundry, barber, goldsmith, wholesale and retail and textile business.