Malaysia's MoHR will not accept letters requesting approval on special quota to hire foreign workers

Only applications that follow the prescribed online procedures will be allowed, Human Resources Minister M Saravanan said.

Malaysia's Ministry of Human Resources (MoHR) will not be approving requests for a special quota to recruit foreign workers based on any supporting letters provided, Human Resources Minister M Saravanan has said. 

Affirming this on Sunday (11 September 2022) and as cited by Bernama, the Minister said only applications that follow the prescribed online procedures will be allowed. 

Even if the letters come from other ministers, he added, the will still be required to follow the application process according to the standard operating procedures in place. 

The minister was cited as saying: "When someone makes a request or appeal to the Prime Minister or any minister, they will usually pass it on to me because this is a rule enforced by the Human Resources Minister so we do not necessarily have to approve it.

"Each time, I do not get any pressure from ministers, and I need to get the Prime Minister's authority to approve any special quota."

In July, Minister Saravanan and Minister of Home Affairs Hamzah Zainudin came to a series of agreements regarding the management and employment of foreign workers in Malaysia, including on:

• the need for foreign workers in the subsector of land and warehouse. Employers in the aforementioned subsector will be allowed to hire low-skilled foreign workers.
• the approval of applications regarding the employment of foreign workers for the industries and businesses that are in charge of managing Walet's Bird's Nest, approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry.
• allowing foreign workers from all 15 source countries to work in Malaysia's manufacturing, construction, and service sectors: India, Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, the Philippines, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, and Kazakhstan.

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