PUTRAJAYA (March 22): The Ministry of Home Affairs has clarified on Friday that employers cannot apply for the foreign worker quota that will be freed up by the cancellation of active but unused allocations after March 31.

Its minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said this at a press conference on Friday when asked whether employers can apply for those freed up quotas.

"We currently have 2.1 million foreign workers, and the deficit of 400,000 needed in the country will be addressed through the Workforce Recalibration Programme," he said.

He also said the permitted ceiling for foreign workers in the country stands at 2.5 million and reiterated that active quotas for which levies have been paid but visas with reference (VDR) have not been issued by the end of March, will be nullified after that.

The Workforce Recalibration Programme, introduced by the government, serves as a targeted employment strategy to meet the demand for foreign workers in the country.

It aims to regularise illegal immigrants in the country as foreign workers legally employed by qualified employers, subject to strict conditions decided by the government through the Malaysian Immigration Department and the Ministry of Home Affairs. Qualified employers include those in the manufacturing, construction, agriculture, plantation, mining and quarrying, and security sectors.

Saifuddin’s clarification came after criticism from business associations such as the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia and the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) over the government's sudden "restrictive" foreign workers policy, when it announced on March 1, by giving just one month's notice, to cut short the validity period of those holding active quotas.

FMM had said that the government's inconsistency in policy decisions would negatively impact the local business community, potentially harming export orders and undermining confidence among foreign investors in Malaysia.

But the government is not budging on its decision to nullify active but unused quotas after March 31, and will only allow employers with approved VDRs to bring in workers on those quotas up till May 31.

This means the government will halt the entry of foreign workers under such active quotas into the formal sector from June 1.