Withhold crackdown on foreign workers with expired permits: Tiong

KUCHING: The Immigration Department was told to refrain from conducting enforcement exercises on foreign workers with expired permits.

Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said this is to prevent harmful impacts on the economy as well as address the shortage of manpower.

“The slow economic activity felt in several sectors has caused many foreign workers to overstay their work permits.

“Immigration needs to reconsider its decisions that would cause even more harmful impacts and economic pressures while addressing the severe manpower shortage,” he said in a Facebook post yesterday (June 30).

Tiong suggested that the government set up a special task force which includes the Ministries for Human Resources, Home Affairs, Immigration, and other related departments to improve the current work permit approval process.

“We should not allow foreign labour shortage to hamper our economic recovery. They should also start processing the backlog of foreign worker permit applications,” he said.

The Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) president said many employers are left worrying about worker shortage and under pressure to renew the labour permit while facing enforcement by the authorities.

“The law enforcement and administrative units must communicate and discussion alternative measures first, instead of bulldozing through the enforcement,” he said.

At the same time, he said with almost all fields now facing labour shortages, the agencies involved must cease the ban on hiring foreign workers and they must stop arresting foreign workers who are late in renewing their permits.

“This country’s economic sector relies heavily on a steady source of foreign labour to maintain optimum operations.

“The government therefore must see this trend and adjust its foreign labour policies and administrative efficiency accordingly, instead of just sticking to inefficient measures.

“At the same time, the Sarawak government must also study the alternative measures to the current problem, so that we can help the employers maintain economic development and operations for the State,” he said.