As Malaysia’s door closes on low-paid migrant workers, companies scramble for staff

A freeze on new migrant-worker applications in Malaysia has employers warning of looming labour shortages and having to turn to the black market

Yet hundreds of thousands of migrants are already in the country and can’t find legal work – duped into moving with promises of non-existent jobs

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Migrant workers from Bangladesh are seen being arrested by Malaysian immigration authorities during a raid in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 11:30am, 6 Apr 2024Updated: 10:38am, 7 Apr 2024

As Malaysia prepares to slam the door on new applications from low-paid migrant workers from abroad, employers are warning of looming labour shortages in everything from curry houses to barber shops and beyond.

While the country has rolled out the red carpet for well-heeled expatriates with a golden-visa scheme, the migrant labourers who take up agriculture, factory and service jobs deemed too low-paying for locals are finding themselves increasingly shut out of the system – and subject to random police detention, poor pay and few labour protections.

A freeze on migrant-worker applications from March 31 was extended last week – after the deadline had already passed – until April 21, following a backlash from businesses as they rushed to source workers mainly from Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar.

The new rules were introduced, at least in part, because of the fallout from a major job-scam crisis that saw some 200,000 workers, mainly from Bangladesh, arrive in Malaysia only to find the vacancies they had paid several thousand US dollars to fill did not exist.

Earlier, the Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners Association (Primas) had issued a joint statement with 22 other trade groups calling for the government to push the deadline back to September, arguing that filling job vacancies had been difficult and the freeze on hiring migrant workers would force businesses to turn to the black market for labour.

“It is difficult to find workers in source countries within such a short time and employers will likely panic as a result, leading them to seek out the services of illegal agencies,” said Primas president Govindasamy Jayabalan in the statement. “This could lead to employers hiring less qualified foreign workers out of desperation.”

Migrant workers from Bangladesh and Myanmar work as general labourers at a wholesale market in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: Shutterstock

April 21 now marks the last day employers can get visa approval for new migrant workers, ahead of a May deadline to bring them into the country.