BUTTERWORTH: The existence of middlemen and unnecessary requests of foreign workers by employers have caused a surplus of foreign workers in the country.
Immigration Department director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali said due to this, the department will be more stringent with new foreign workers applications.
"Employers are asking for a lot of foreign workers when they actually do not need them.
"Adding to the problem is the middlemen, who promise employers that they can get as many foreign workers that the employers want.
"We also do not want the employers to turn into middlemen themselves, so we have to be stringent because many parties feel cheated by the middlemen.
"If an employer really needs foreign workers they can apply through our department or appointed vendors such as Iman Sdn Bhd, MyEG Bhd and Bukit Megah Sdn Bhd," he told reporters after a dialogue on foreign workers in the state's Customs Complex here today.
Elaborating further, Mustafar said that employers, who really need more foreign workers, would not face any problem applying though the right channels as their application would be approved based on the company's needs.
"For example, a construction companies might need extra workers so we will look at their permits or license from Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia as well as their contract agreement before approving their application.
"However, if they apply for up to 1,000 workers but do not have any project that means they are planning to become middlemen.
"We will definitely not approve the application in this situation as it would create an excess of foreign workers in the country," he said.
He said to date there was 1.72 million foreign workers registered in the country and Human Resource Ministry has conducted studies to ensure that the amount was sufficient to support the various companies and industries.
Meanwhile, Mustafar said the department would be getting the list of individuals or organisers of an alleged Gay Festival in Kuala Lumpur by end of this month from the police to block their entry into the country.
"The organiser had been banned from entering the country and it's our job to ensure that they are not allowed into the country," he said.