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Employment of foreign workers in 3 sub-sectors will need to be approved by Cabinet, HR Minister Sivakumar reminds

Employment of foreign workers in 3 sub-sectors will need to be approved by Cabinet, HR Minister Sivakumar reminds

The textile, barber, and goldsmith sub-sectors in Malaysia have been closed to the employment of foreign workers since 2019.

While employers in Malaysia have been calling for the re-opening of the textile, barber, and goldsmith sub-sectors to the employment of foreign workers, the Government will need to take certain processes and considerations before doing so, Minister of Human Resources V. Sivakumar has shared.

In a statement, the minister noted that these sub-sectors have been frozen since 2009 and "completely closed to the employment of foreign workers since 2019." However, as with any Government policy regarding the employment of foreign workers, before the reopening can take place, the matter will first need to be brought up at a Joint Committee Meeting of the Minister of Home Affairs and the Minister of Human Resources Related to the Management of Foreign Workers.

Following this, any recommendations from the meeting will then be presented for consideration and approval by the Cabinet of Ministers, before any announcements can be made.

Apart from the above, Minister Sivakumar added that he has discussed the possibility of extending the Temporary Work Visit Passes expiring in March 2023, for a "suitable period of time.".

He reaffirmed: "I would like to state that any Government policy related to the employment of foreign workers including the freezing or reopening of a sector or sub-sector will take into account the current situation and the actual needs of employers."

ALSO READ: Malaysia's eased rules for hiring foreign workers: 13 things employers in key sectors need to know


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