|
|
Change Your Life! |
Malaysia
suspends issuing work permits for foreign workers |
|
News
|
April 23, 2000 KUALA LUMPUR, APR 22 (AP) - Malaysia has suspended the issuing of work permits to foreigners while the government revises its system for handling mounting applications, an official said Saturday. The secretary-general of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Jamaluddin Haji Ahmad Damanhuri, said the move was taken as the ministry was studying the situation on recruitment of foreign workers in all sectors. Malaysia, which has recovered from the Asian economic crisis, is being flooded with thousands of applications from foreign workers from neighboring countries. At the same time there is plenty of work, especially in the construction and plantation sectors, which are suffering from a labor shortage.
In February, the Cabinet Committee on Foreign Workers ordered a halt to accepting new applications from foreign workers for the time being as it was still processing a large number of applications submitted earlier. The Home Ministry says it wants to simplify the system of issuing permits and visas. Up to February this year, there were 697,219 foreign workers nation-wide. Of the total, 517,766 were from Indonesia, 129,000 from Bangladesh, 30,500 from Philippines, 3,280 from Pakistan, 2,888 from Thailand and the balance from other countries.
|