HRM won't approve special quota to hire foreign workers based on supporting letters

He said only applications that follow the prescribed online procedures will be allowed.

He was responding to a letter allegedly from the Prime Minister's Office to the senior confidential secretary, Human Resources Minister that was uploaded yesterday by a Twitter user, going by the name of lady_bugg11, with the caption 'Patut majikan tak nak ambil warga tempatan' (That's why employers are not hiring locals).

"I have received such letters from ministers, however, although it comes with supporting letters, they still need to apply through standard operating procedures that have been set," he said at a press conference at the Perak Hindu Temples Convention here today.

"When someone makes a request or appeal to the Prime Minister or any minister, they will usually pass it on to me because this is a rule enforced by the Human Resources Ministry so we do not necessarily have to approve it.

"Each time, I do not get any pressure from ministers, and I need to get the Prime Minister's authority to approve any special quota," he said.

The alleged letter contained a request for special approval to obtain a quota to recruit and supply a total of 12,000 foreign workers from source countries without having to be referred to the relevant committee.

On the recent chaos at the ministry where it was swamped with hundreds of employers due to the allegedly irregular and troublesome interview session system for hiring foreign workers, Saravanan said it was because there were employers who were there without an appointment.

"The application process has been expanded to all states, through the Labour Department, instead of just in Putrajaya, and there are no longer long queues for employers. It (situation) only happened on that one (particular) day," he added.

It is understood that the ministry limits 300 employers to be interviewed each day, but the presence of employers from all over the country exceeded the quota.