The Government must clear up issues regarding its policy on foreign workers before next month’s Deepavali festival, the Malaysian Associated Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MAICCI) said.
Its secretary-general Datuk A. T. Kumarajah said they had urged the Government to make good the approvals which were already obtained prior to the ruling being imposed.
“The non-issuance of already approved permits has caused a major disruption in operations and has substantial financial implications on many Indian-run businesses,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Kumarajah said the foreign workers policy was raised in a dialogue session between MAICCI and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak last Thursday.
“We urged the Government to revamp the policy that will allow the market to be more business-friendly and transparent in the implementation and enforcement process,” he added.
On June 1, the Home Ministry announced it would not lift the blanket ban on foreign workers until it was convinced that employers, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), stopped using agents and took full responsibility for their workers’ welfare.
Kumarajah said MAICCI president Tan Sri K. Kenneth Eswaran had sought Najib’s mandate that a certain percentage of works would be given to qualified and financially capable contractors and sub-contractors for areas where Indians have an inherent strength, especially in civil, technical and even professional work.
news source: thestar.com.my
