KUALA LUMPUR: The National Recovery Council (MPN) recommends the relevant ministries and agencies to further simplify the procedures for the recruitment and entry of foreign workers into the country.

MPN chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said he was disappointed that the issue on the entry of foreign workers into the country had not been resolved even though the procedure was said to be relatively simple.

"We also discussed this matter (at today's MPN roundtable discussion session) and during the last session.

"Although the procedure is said to be relatively simple, the process of hiring foreign workers is slow and this has a big impact on productivity and the country's recovery process," he said after a roundtable discussion entitled 'Speeding up Economic Recovery' here today.

He said the recruitment of foreign workers was a requirement for various economic sectors such as plantation, construction, manufacturing, factory, as well as small and medium enterprises to continue their production.


On the country spending over RM77 billion on subsidy, Muhyiddin said the MPN was taking follow-up action to ensure that the government did not continue to bear the burden of high subsidies.

He said many MPN members suggested for the government to provide targeted subsidies, which is to certain groups that are more entitled to receive them.

"Some follow-up actions being taken by the MPN secretariat of the National Rehabilitation Council is to think on how and recommendations to give to the government on how to not increase the burden of high subsidies.

"If it continues to increase because of the increase in the price of goods, that for me will probably be burdensome and maybe the government will not be able to afford this," he said.

Apart from that, Muhyiddin said the MPN also raised the issue on food security by evaluating measures to increase the country's food supply in a short time as the agro -food sector was important for the country's future.

-- BERNAMA