[Kabar-indonesia] Malaysia to reduce number of foreign workers to 1.5 million

[Joyo at aol.com]

Xinhua 
September 2, 2006

Malaysia to reduce number of foreign workers to 1.5 mln

Malaysia aims to reduce the number of foreign workers in the country to 1.5 
million by 2010, the Ministry of Finance said Friday.

By the year 2010, only 250,000 foreign workers will remain in the 
manufacturing sector and another 200,000 in the construction sector, the ministry said in 
the 2006/2007 Economic Report.

"Efforts are underway to reduce the dependence on foreign workers by 
encouraging greater automation and mechanization of labor intensive industries," the 
report said.

To reduce the dependency of foreign workers in construction, manufacturing 
and services sectors, the government has made it mandatory for all employers to 
advertise their vacancies through the Electronic Labor Exchange (ELX) at the 
Manpower Department to offer more opportunities for local Malaysians.

Employers in the three main sectors are required to advertise vacancies for a 
duration of one week for the plantation sector, two weeks for services and a 
month for the manufacturing sector to provide ample opportunities for 
Malaysians to take up the vacancies. If Malaysians fail to take those offers, then 
foreign workers may be considered.

As of June 2006, there were 1.84 million registered foreign workers in 
Malaysia, of which 33.3 percent were employed in manufacturing, 20.2 percent in 
plantation, 25.9 percent in services (including domestic maids) and 15.1 percent 
in construction.

The majority of foreign workers were from Indonesia (64.7 percent), Nepal 
(10.7 percent), India (7.4 percent) and Myanmar (5. 2 percent), while in the 
services sector, about 66.5 percent foreign workers were employed as domestic 
maids, of whom 90 percent come from Indonesia, said the report.

Meanwhile, the report said, the labor market conditions in Malaysia are 
expected to remain favorable in 2006, especially in the second half with rising 
employment opportunities.

The unemployment rate is projected to remain low at 3.5 percent, added the 
report.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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