REDUCING FOREIGN WORKERS
KUCHING: The government’s move to reduce dependence on foreign workers has been described as a promising long-term goal.
Kuching Chinese General Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCGCCI) secretary-general Jonathan Chai Voon Tok in supporting the move said some painful adjustments were to be anticipated in the short term, especially for the plantations sector.
“Even though locals remain the first choice for the labour supply, in many cases this is to no avail,” he said yesterday.
He was commenting on Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob who said that the nation was expecting to see changes in the policy of foreign worker employment as well as curbing the entry of illegal immigrants post Covid-19.
Chai noted that most jobs taken up by foreign workers were considered dirty, dangerous, and difficult, causing locals to often shy away from such work.
In this regard, he said that the mindsets of jobseekers needed to change and they should be more accommodative.
“Generally, Malaysians prefer to work in the service industry and in cities rather than rural plantations and the manufacturing sector,” he said.
He added that certain industries such as palm-oil were turning to machines to reduce their dependency on foreign labour and to boost productivity and cost efficiency.
“However, as at this juncture, the function of such machines is still limited and it does not totally eliminate the dependence on foreign workers in the plantations sector,” he said.
He said that hopefully, with more employers upgrading their processes with robotics and automation, the dependence on foreign workers would be reduced drastically.
“More incentives from our government to encourage the transformation of the mode of operation of businesses in the private sector would help to expedite the process of our dependence or doing away with the foreign workers,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chai also commended the government for taking firm action in dealing with the long-standing problem of the influx of illegal immigrants.
“Indeed, we should be alarmed over the high rate of infection of Covid-19 from the cluster of foreign workers and illegal immigrants.
