PETALING JAYA (Jan 23): The Human Resources Ministry is looking to review the minimal pay threshold for jobs taken up by foreigners or expatriates in the country to ensure there are more jobs reserved for locals.

In a media briefing today, Human Resources Minister M Kula Segaran said the current minimal pay category for them is between RM3,000 and RM4,999 per month, and that expats in this pay category can only be contracted to work for not more than 12 months.

Kula said the ministry will be looking at increasing the base threshold from RM3,000 to RM5,000 so that jobs paying below this level will be reserved for Malaysians.

"This is especially to ensure that we give more chance to our Malaysian fresh graduates to attain jobs," he told reporters after a work visit to TalentCorp Malaysia's office.

He noted that currently only about 5% of foreign workers in the country occupy jobs in the RM3,000 to RM4,999 pay category, and that the number had been declining over the past year. This is also in tandem with the Home Ministry's efforts to reduce the duration of foreign workers employment in the country.

"We will be forming a committee to address this (issue) and seek the cooperation of various stakeholders," said Kula, adding that the ministry hopes to make a decision on this matter this year.