PUTRAJAYA: The Home Ministry and the Human Resources Ministry are to meet next Tuesday to improve the management of foreign workers in the country.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said he will meet Human Resource Minister Steven Sim, to discuss issues involving employers not complying with the agreed laws through the Human Resource Ministry's joint committee.
He said other issues to be discussed involve the Passport Act and Employment Act under the Immigration Department and cases of exploitation of foreign workers.
"The current issue is a symptom occurring downstream, and we need to clarify it at the upstream first so that this problem will be resolved," he said after the Home Minister's 2024 Address ceremony, today.
Also present were his deputy, Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah and the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Razarudin Husain.
Saifuddin said the focus of the discussion will also involve legal aspects and enforcement, whether it needs improvement in line with the Cabinet's directives to the ministries.
"The outcomes of these discussions will be shared in a press conference after any decisions regarding them are made," he said.
Yesterday, it was reported that the National Association of Human Resources (Pusma) president Zarina Ismail, revealed that her organisation and several other employment agencies discovered the existence of 'foreign companies' bringing in people from South Asian countries, even though there were no demand from employers in Malaysia.
According to her, over 100 companies believed to be led by Bangladeshis were found operating in the country to bring in foreign workers over the past two to three years and did not function like regular business firms; instead, they were alleged to be managed by runners of that country here.
The modus operandi of these companies involve using Malaysians as the primary shareholders, with Bangladeshis holding only 49 per cent of the shares.