In an effort to give priority to the hiring of local workers, Malaysia’s Human Resource Ministry has made it compulsory for employers to advertise job vacancies in their organisations on the JobsMalaysia platform.

Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Mahfuz Omar said the approval rate for job applications submitted by foreigners currently stood at only between 25 and 30 percent, Bernama reports.

“It shows that the ministry has given the highest priority to local workers over foreigners, where JTK will first examine (the applications submitted by) employers who wish to hire foreign workers based on the needs of the industry,” he said during the question-and-answer session here.

He was answering to question from Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin (BN-Padang Besar) regarding the government’s move to reduce dependency on foreign workers.

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