Malaysia is one of Asia's biggest employers of foreign labour. But recently, cases of deaths, abuse and forced labour have come to light. What is going on? Who is protecting these migrant workers?
BY FARIK ZOLKEPLI
PETALING JAYA: Over-the-counter (OTC) services for renewal of foreign worker permits are only available for selected “serious cases”, said Immigration Department deputy director-general Datuk Sakib Kusmi.
While renewal of the permits have gone fully online via MyEG, certain cases will still be entertained at the department’s OTCs.
“Examples of such cases are those having problems with the applicant’s biodata and the issue of overstaying. These are some of the issues that can’t be settled online.
“Thus, we are still operating our counter services to deal with such cases,” he said in an interview yesterday.
He was commenting on grouses by business associations that no prior announcements were made on the compulsory use of MyEG to renew permits of foreign workers.
Sakib said employers could still do checks at the counters, whether their documents for permit renewal were in order.
“Usually, if the documents are in order, then the employers will be asked to submit their applications online.
“If they are not in order due to problems, including biodata and overstaying, the employers can deal with the matter at the counters,” he said.
He assured businesses that the department personnel were always ready to assist them.
Sakib said the RM35 fee for the online service had been waived and absorbed by the Government.
“The objective of making it compulsory to use the online service is for their convenience.
“They are always welcome to give us feedback if they encounter problems,” he added.
The department had previously announced that online renewal of foreign worker permits was made compulsory nationwide from May 2.
In a statement on April 30, Immigration director-general Datuk Mustafa Ibrahim said the RM35 fee for the online service was waived to encourage more employers to use it.
Source: THE STAR ONLINE
Address: Wisma MTUC,10-5, Jalan USJ 9/5T, 47620 Subang Jaya,Selangor | Tel: 03-80242953 | Fax: 03-80243225 | Email: sgmtuc@gmail.com.com