FMM In The News: NEW STRAITS TIMES, KUALA LUMPUR, Saturday, December 11, 2021 - The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) is most grateful for the fast action by the government in announcing the reopening of foreign worker recruitment from the source country.
This, it said, would assist industries and improve the rate and pace of business and economic recovery.
It would also restore the confidence and reliability of Malaysia as a manufacturing hub and global supply chain player in the region and improve the country's export competitiveness.
"We look forward to the quick release of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) on the entry of foreign workers and request that the industry be involved in the discussions to ensure that the SOPs are practicable and at the same time do not add unnecessary cost burden on employers during this fragile economic period," its president Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai said in a statement today.
He said the industry took note that the implementation of the multi-tier levy mechanism has been postponed to July 1, 2022 and thanked the government for recognising the timing sensitivity of implementing this policy change.
He said FMM has always supported the implementation of the multi-tier levy mechanism which would allow the forces of demand and supply to determine outcomes and would effectively influence market behaviour without distortions; provide clarity and certainty to approvals; reduce bureaucracy and remove opportunities for abuse and corruption.
"We humbly request that the details of the multi-tier levy and the rate be announced by January 2022 to give industries the necessary time to plan and adjust to the new levy system."
At the same time, FMM said it would continue to remind industries to be responsible employers as well as to ensure strict adherence and compliance of all labour and employment laws and human resources standards and practices when employing foreign workers.
In the long term, concerted efforts have to be taken to reduce the dependence on foreign workers including greater technology adoption and automation of processes, FMM said.--BERNAMA