Minimum standard housing for foreign workers, says DPM

PETALING JAYA: It is compulsory for employers to provide at least a minimum standard accommodation for their foreign workers.
Stating this, Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi warned that employers who failed to comply with this ruling would not be able to hire any more new foreign workers.
“The Cabinet Committee on Foreign Workers and Illegal Immigrants agreed that it should be made compulsory for employers to provide accommodation for foreign workers based on the minimum standard that has been decided.
“The Immigration Department will not consider any new applications to hire foreign workers by employers who fail to provide accommodation based on the minimum standards” he said in a statement released after chairing the meeting today.
Ahmad Zahid said the committee also agreed that interested private sector players could come forward to provide accommodation centres for foreign workers as an option for employers.
He said the Human Resources Ministry has provided guidelines on the minimum standard of the accommodation to all accommodation centres and premises.
Ahmad Zahid said the government did not fix any service charge for companies that were providing the accommodation service to employers.
“Until March 31, the total number of legal foreign workers in Malaysia stood at 1.99 million people.
“These are the foreign workers who hold the Temporary Work Visit Pass that is issued by the Immigration Department," he said.
Although this is a huge number, Ahmad Zahid said the government still received complaints from industries stating that there was a lack of workforce, especially after the foreign workers freeze was implemented.
Thus, he said, the government had identified critical sectors that are in desperate need of workers – manufacturing especially furniture factories and construction
and plantation sectors.
“Only those in these critical sectors, which have attempted hiring local workers but are still in need, will be considered for foreign workers," he added.