Foreign workers: Sabah needs newer sources

Kota Kinabalu: The State Government needs to consider diversifying its sources of hiring foreign workers to work in plantation sector and not depend on Indonesians and Filipinos.

Federal Deputy Minister of Plantation and Commodities Datuk Chan Foong Hin said the State could be less attractive to Indonesians because of developments back home.

“In the Sabah context, it has, so far, only accepted Indonesians and Filipinos as the two main sources of employing foreign workers.

“But in West Malaysia, they hire Bangladeshis and Pakistanis. Now they can also hire from Nepal and Myanmar.

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Hiring of foreign workers falls under the State and the Chief Minister has power to decide on this matter.

“When it comes to migrant workers in Sabah and Sarawak, both state governments have certain powers on immigration matter to be decided by them. Sarawak had rejected the possibility of hiring Bangladeshis due to social problems associated with them.

“Malaysia may no longer be attractive for Indonesians because of Nusantara,” he said.

The Federal Government has agreed to allow the hiring of foreign workers specifically for the plantation sector under the Ministry of Plantation and Commodities (KPK), said its Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani.

Johari said it was decided that only the plantation sector is allowed to hire foreign workers.

Chan, who is also Member of Parliament for Kota Kinabalu, said this Ministry is facing this worrying challenge and has brought up the issue to the Foreign Ministry and Human Resource Ministry.

Recently, former Chief Minister Tan Sri Harris Salleh said Sabah can expect an outflow of workers from the State following the rapid realisation of Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara in Kalimantan.

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In view of this, he said a revision of the foreign workers policy is necessary, in particular an extension of the foreign worker permit to up to 15 years instead of the current annual permit.

Malaysia is ranked number two as oil palm after Indonesia. Sabah is the nation’s leading oil palm producing state although almost all the plantation firms are not Sabah-owned.

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