PUTRAJAYA, Oct 29 — The new procedure on hiring and re-hiring foreign workers and expatriates, which required employers to advertise the vacancies first on the national employment portal, MYFutureJobs, is to facilitate the employment of local talents and to ensure they are given priority for any job opportunities.

Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan in a statement today said the government is very concerned with the unemployment rate in the country especially when about 300,000 fresh graduates are entering the employment market this year.

"All key stakeholders, in particular employers and the relevant associations have been urged to work with the government in supporting the employment of locals especially in this trying time,” he said.

Referring to a statement by The Centre for Market Education (CME) yesterday which warned the new procedure may lead to reduced foreign direct investment (FDI) and less interest from multinational corporations (MNCs), he said it should not be seen as having negative consequences on the flow of FDI into the country.

"It is instead a positive move that has the potential to increase FDIs in the future,” he said.

Saravanan said the ministry fully recognised the need for foreign workers or expatriates for certain industries or certain key posts and by no means will reject such applications, provided there are sufficient justification for such positions to be filled by non-citizens. 

He said there are many advantages in hiring Malaysians from a pool of experienced and competent local talents in the market.

"Besides their familiarity with Malaysia’s multi-racial culture and languages, they understand the local market, have local business contacts and connections as well as having an edge in motivating local workers and interacting with customers.

"This will also come in handy when companies plan to expand operations into the Asian region,” he said.

In addition, Saravanan said companies can tap into the National Economic Recovery Plan (Penjana) Hiring Incentives Programme when employing local talents. 

"Not only would they qualify for incentives of up to RM1,000 per employee for up to 6 months, but also able to upgrade the skills of the local talents or reskill them through relevant courses at no cost at all from a list of over 5,000 courses,” he said.

Saravanan said employers will be expected to conduct job interviews to assess the suitability of local job seekers for the position as a pre-condition to apply for foreign workers or expatriates. 

He said there shall be no interference from the ministry during the interview process and employers are only required to report the outcome of the job interviews to support their applications for foreign workers or expatriates.

Saravanan said the ministry will be issuing the frequently asked questions (FAQs) and application guidelines on the measure before Nov 1.

"Engagement sessions will be held extensively with employers and employer associations to guide them through the process,” he said. — Bernama