Foreign worker recruitment approval: Three subsectors ready to train locals

Malaysian Indian Hair Dressing Salon Owners Association (Mindas) assistant secretary M Meenaq Kumar said that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's announcement on the partial approval of applications for the recruitment of foreign workers for the three subsectors would greatly facilitate their business operations.

"It is a good move. For example, my barbershop needs at least two workers to operate. With the government's approval, I'll be able to hire one local worker and one foreign worker and provide them (local workers) with the necessary training.

"For us, it's not a problem because we used to hire locals and train them, but as they gain more experience and skills, they will get a better offer or enough money to start their own businesses. So we need foreign workers to help run our business," he told Bernama.

Meenaq also described the announcement as a huge relief for all the affected entrepreneurs, as recruitment of foreign workers for these subsectors has been frozen since 2009.

On Monday, Anwar announced that the government had approved part of the applications for the recruitment of foreign workers, involving barbershops, textile outlets and goldsmiths.

However, the Prime Minister placed the condition that local youths be trained to fill up vacancies in the three subsectors.

Echoing the same sentiment, Malaysian Indian Textiles and General Goods Traders Association (MITA) secretary general Maheswary Ramasamy said producing a well-trained local workforce would help the industry reduce dependence on foreign labour.

"We are always willing to train local workers...in the textile sector for example, we do not require excessively high levels of skill," he said.

Malaysian Indian Goldsmith Jewellers Association (MIGJA) president Datuk Abdul Rasull Abdul Razak, meanwhile, said for now, the industry is taking a wait-and-see approach pending the Cabinet decision on the matter.

Abdul Rasull said that this was due to the fact that the sector required a large amount of capital and skilled workforce, as well as high salary payments of up to RM15,000 per person.

"We will wait for the Cabinet decision first, and if everything is fine, we'll come out with a programme or something suitable to train them (local workers)," he said.

He described the Prime Minister's announcement as timely and said it was able to prevent entrepreneurs in the industry from shutting down their businesses due to a lack of skilled manpower.

"...most of our skilled workers are old, and some of them have died. Their children aren't interested in taking over the business because they'd rather work for the government. This is one of the reasons why this announcement can help us," he said.

He said that the country's gold and jewellery industry is in dire need of skilled labour, especially from India or Sri Lanka, to meet the demand of customers who prefer unique designs.