Foreign workers, illegals exceeds 15% of Malaysian workforce, says minister

The number of foreign workers in the country is possibly more than 15% if those who were illegal were also taken into account, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot said. He said up till December last year, the number of documented foreign workers was 2.135 million. "However, for every 10 foreign workers, there are eight illegals.  "This means that there are about 1.7 million undocumented workers in the country," Richard said during a media conference in Putrajaya today. He said of this figure, 282,287 were from Bangladesh, including 148 who were in Sarawak. Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) secretary-general N. Gopal Kishnam. however said, recently that foreign workers make up about 30% to 35% of the workforce. The 11th Malaysia Plan has set a ceiling of 15% for foreign workers in the country, about 2.3 million out of the total of 15.3 million of the country's workforce. "The government has entered into seven more memorandums of understanding (MoU) with other countries like Indonesia, India, Thailand, Cambodia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam," he said, in reference to the MoU signed yesterday with the government of Bangladesh to bring foreign workers into the country. "It is true that the number of foreign workers in the country is above the set target if we include the illegals. "That is why we are ensuring stricter enforcement in order not to go beyond the target," he said. He also said the government could not continue its dependence on foreign labour, adding, however, that when there is demand from employers, the government would make the offer to the workers. – February 19, 2016.]]>