BINTULU: Many foreign workers are needed for ongoing federal projects nationwide, said Senior Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
In pointing this out, he said the federal government had approved a total of 14,000 applications from foreign workers.
He said the matter had been approved as a result of joint negotiations with foreign countries, namely, Bangladesh and Indonesia.
“For the construction sector, 14,000 applications have been approved so far,” he added when fielding questions from reporters at a press conference held at Bintulu Airport here today.
However, Fadillah revealed that none of the 14,000 applicants had made it into the country so far.
“This is a challenge for us and we have to address this issue. The challenge is whether we will get our supply of manpower from other countries or not.”
He pointed out that rapid development in Indonesia might also be a reason for the workers’ reluctance to work in Malaysia.
“Maybe in Indonesia, there are already a lot of new jobs or a lot of programmes causing them to stay (and work there). We are not sure,” he added.
Apart from that, Fadillah said competitions between numerous local sectors had also contributed to a shortage of workers in the construction sector.
“There is competition in the country’s various sectors, including the plantation sector, such as the oil palm industry,” he explained.
