Existing Migrant Workers Can Help Plug Labour Gaps, Says Tenaganita
Regularising migrant workers already in the country would be faster and less risky than fresh recruitment from abroad, the rights group says.
Tenaganita has urged the government to address labour shortages by regularising migrant workers already in Malaysia rather than relying on continued recruitment from abroad.
In a statement, Tenaganita executive director Glorene Das said regularising workers already in the country would be "faster, more cost-effective and less risky".
Her remarks follow government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil's announcement yesterday that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has instructed the human resources ministry to expedite 15,000 migrant worker applications to meet urgent manpower needs in key sectors.
Das said refugees who are legally permitted to work could also contribute to sectors experiencing genuine labour shortages.
"Continuously bringing in more migrant workers cannot be the only response," she said.
Root causes
She called on Putrajaya to tackle the root causes that make many jobs difficult to fill, including low wages, poor working conditions and weak labour protections.
Through its work on the ground, she said, Tenaganita has met many Malaysians prepared to work in sectors traditionally filled by migrant workers — provided the jobs offer fair wages, safe working conditions, reasonable working hours and opportunities for decent employment.
"Labour shortages should therefore not be seen simply as a shortage of workers, but also as a reflection of the quality of jobs being offered.
"Improving the quality of work must form part of any long-term strategy to address labour shortages while ensuring decent working conditions for both Malaysian and migrant workers alike," she said.
Warning against repeating 2023
Das urged Putrajaya not to repeat a 2023 recruitment exercise that left thousands of migrant workers stranded without jobs, wages or support, exposing them to "exploitation and severe hardship".
Any move to accelerate recruitment must be accompanied by stricter employer screening, greater transparency and stronger accountability to ensure workers are recruited only for genuine vacancies, she said.
She also called for tougher action against excessive recruitment fees, noting that many migrant workers paid between RM10,000 and RM15,000 to secure jobs, leaving them vulnerable to debt and exploitation.
"The true measure of Malaysia's progress is not how many workers we bring into the country, but how we treat the people who help build our nation," she said.
This article was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI), in accordance with our editorial policy.