KUALA LUMPUR (April 6): The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) hopes the government will shorten the time for foreign workers to arrive in the country as companies urgently need workers to expand and boost their businesses.

In a statement, MEF president Datuk Dr Syed Hussain Syed Husman said the normal procedure for applying for new foreign workers is such that it can take up to six months before they can start working.

"The shortage of workers, especially foreign workers, became more critical during the Covid-19 pandemic when the government imposed a freeze on intake of new foreign workers. Employers need the new workers urgently to assist in their recovery efforts and put their businesses on the right path," said Syed Hussain, especially for the plantation, construction, and manufacturing sectors given the intense competition from other ASEAN countries and China.

The worker shortages could impact on economic growth — estimated at 5.3% to 6.3% by Bank Negara Malaysia for 2022, Syed Hussain cautioned.

He added that employers should be enabled to fulfil their customers' orders, otherwise they run the risk of customers switching to other suppliers.

Due to the high cost of recruitment, employers have to pay about RM4,200 for each foreign worker who has to undergo quarantine if infected with the Covid-19 virus.

"Currently all quarantine centres, as well as hotels for quarantine purposes, in the Klang Valley could only accommodate about 10,000 people at any given time," he said, adding MEF hopes that more quarantine centres can be established outside the Klang Valley where costs may be lower, to assist employers with the quarantine costs.

"MEF hopes the government [will] discuss and negotiate with the source countries to control and cap the recruitment fees charged by the agents at the source countries as whatever fees charged by the agents at the source countries will eventually be paid by the employers in Malaysia under the zero fee recruitment policy," added Syed Hussain.