Malaysia’s foreign workforce falls to 2.13 million as government implements measures to reduce dependency and promote local hiring.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s foreign worker population has decreased by 13% to 2,132,578 as of October 15 this year.
This compares to 2,452,010 foreign workers recorded during the same period last year.
Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Mohamad said the decline reflects government efforts to reduce dependency on foreign labour across all economic sectors.
“The manufacturing sector recorded 622,388 foreign workers, followed by construction (589,684), services (390,607), plantation (263,131), agriculture (158,628), domestic helpers (107,375) and the mining and quarrying sector (765),” he told the Dewan Rakyat.
He was responding to a question from Datuk Awang Hashim regarding foreign worker numbers by sector and government measures to optimise local manpower usage.
Abdul Rahman said foreign worker recruitment is currently limited to six main formal sectors: construction, services, plantation, agriculture, mining and quarrying.
Only foreign domestic helpers are permitted in the informal sector.
Under the 12th Malaysia Plan, government policy caps foreign worker employment at no more than 15% of the national workforce.
Targets aim to reduce this to 10% by 2030 under the 13th Malaysia Plan and to 5% by 2035.
Several initiatives have been introduced to encourage local worker hiring in semi-skilled and skilled sectors.
These include maintaining the March 18, 2023 decision to freeze approvals for new foreign worker quotas and applications.
A Multi-Tier Levy mechanism will be implemented beginning in 2026.
The ministry is strengthening Technical and Vocational Education and Training programmes through collaboration with domestic and international companies.
This involves agencies such as HRD Corp, TalentCorp and the Social Security Organisation to enhance local workforce upskilling and reskilling. – Bernama
