KUALA LUMPUR: The government should review the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS), currently administered by a private vendor, in its efforts to foster fair and ethical employment.
Association of Employment Agencies Malaysia vice-president Suresh Tan said the authorities should consider doing away with the system, as its implementation management agreement was yet to be signed, as highlighted in the 2022 Auditor General's Report.
"Out of the 12 modules, only one, biomedical, is being implemented. Even then, it only covers the basic medical conditions and not the criminal record, (which is part of the vetting process) and the data is not linked to the police and Immigration Department.
"Instead, the Integrated Foreign Workers Management System (ePPAx) could be further enhanced and integrated so that it could be accessed by stakeholders including employers, recruitment agencies and embassies," he told the New Straits Times.
He also raised doubt over the legitimacy of processes done via FWCMS, of which the government did not fork out 'a single cent'.
He said the charges could have been passed on to recruitment agencies from source countries and then to the employers here, who do not have any say in the selection of the agency.
"Let's say, I wish to hire a foreign worker, the system will decide for me which agent that I would engage the moment the approvals (for the application for workers submitted to the platform) are issued.
"This could be avoided if the system is being managed by the authorities. The relevant government officials have access to it, but only as users and not administrators."
The Auditor General's Report is available on the National Audit Department's website https://agdashboard.audit.gov.my/