No foreigners allowed to work on the front lines - Saravanan

The government will not allow foreign workers to join the front line while the country is controlling the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Human Resources Minister, Datuk Seri M. Saravanan said the initiative is a part of the government’s measures to open up space for locals, especially the youth in an effort to reduce the unemployment rate.

"Considering various factors, the government will not open the front-line sector to foreigners. It does not mean that we do not allow it at all.

"If at the petrol station we allow foreign workers to be pump assistants, but they do not work at the front counter.

"In restaurants, we allow foreign workers to be cooks but on the front lines, locals are still needed.

"This is one of the measures to ensure that locals, especially youths, are able to work because they will determine the direction of the country," he said.

He said this while answering a question from Baling Member of Parliament, Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim regarding the government's plan for youths who will lead the country in the future, in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday.

In the meantime, the government has also made it mandatory to advertise vacancies through the JobsMalaysia portal for a period of not less than 30 days to ensure that there will be no issue of job dependency on foreign workers.

However, Saravanan explained that employers are allowed to request for foreign labour through applications if there is no response from locals.