KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 28): Private sector employers hope the Malaysian government would not make foreign worker permit online renewal via MyEG Services Bhd mandatory.

They also hope the mandatory use of the foreign workers centralised management system by Bestinet Sdn Bhd will be suspended with immediate effect.

The Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) and Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association (MPMA) have jointly voiced their concerns that the mandatory use of MyEG and Bestinet's services would raise business cost, which could eventually burden consumers and foreign workers.

ACCCIM deputy secretary general Tan Sri Teo Chiang Kok said employers fully supported e-government systems in the employment and management of foreign workers.

But employers must be given an option to use over-the-counter service provided by the Home Affairs Ministry besides the online facility by MyEG (fundamental:2.6; valuation:1.5), according to Teo.

"The government should not pass on the cost for outsourcing its services to a third party and charge the public for these services. This is part of the government's duty. We have already paid levy and licencing fee and this should cover the cost of processing.

"The RM38 processing fee per foreign worker charged by MyEG would be an additional burden to the business sector, which would pass on the additional cost to consumers," Teo said today at joint press conference with MPMA.

MPMA president Lim Kok Boon said the multitude of processes in hiring, renewal and repatriation of foreign workers undertaken by the government or through its agents such as MyEG and Bestinet had added cost to employers.

Lim said a part of this cost would also be shifted to foreign worker, whose income would be affected.

"The multitude of processes have added cost," he said.

ACCCIM and MPMA were among 32 local trade organisations represented at the press conference.

The 32 entities included the Malaysian Associated Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association.

MyEG has been in the spotlight. This is because the mandatory use of MyEG's services for online renewal of foreign workers' permits is deemed a monopoly by the local business community.

That has led The Malaysia Competition Commision to initiate a probe on MyEG after a complaint was lodged against MyEG.

Earlier, MyEG, however said the RM38 fee was justified due to its expanded scope of responsibilities

Besides permit renewal, MyEG said its job scope now included helping the authorities identify legal and illegal foreign workers here, and employers hiring these workers.

Today, MyEG shares fell seven sen or 2.7% at 3:25pm to an intraday low of RM2.57 for a market  capitalisation of RM3.08 billion.

The stock had risen 23% this year, outperforming the FBM KLCI's 2% rise.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)