Kuala Lumpur to ease labor shortage on farms

V.K. Chin, The Star, Asia News Network, Selangor, Malaysia

The decision to allow more sectors to employ foreign workers has been received with mixed reaction by the employers and the trade unions. The public will no doubt be concerned with the implications of a bigger presence of such foreigners on society.

At present, only the plantation, construction and manufacturing sectors are permitted to employ such labor since Malaysians are not keen to work in these areas. There are therefore legitimate reasons for foreigners to come in to fill the vacuum.

While domestic maids have become a necessity with many Malaysian households, caution should be exercised for the service sector as there could be abuse by some employers.

Under the new policy, the government will expand the recruitment of foreign labor to include those in the agriculture sector and the small and medium-scale industries (SMIs).

This is in line with the government policy of getting agriculture and the SMIs to play a bigger role in economic development as these two groups had been neglected in the past.

There are of course pros and cons in employing such foreign workers to do work that should rightly go to the locals. Some will consider it as counter-productive as the new jobs created should benefit the locals and not foreigners.

However, the government's main concern is that labor shortage should not affect economic growth, which must be sustained if Malaysia is to become a developed nation as quickly as possible.

Apart from plantation and construction, the sector where Malaysians will not be keen on working is agriculture and this is hindering the growth of this vital industry, especially in food production.

Due to the lack of attention, Malaysia has to import billions of ringgit of food each year as the farmers are unable to meet the growing demand for such produce.

Some will argue that Malaysians are reluctant to work in these sectors due to the poor wages and incentives and believe that the situation may improve if these benefits are upgraded.

Further, the salaries of Malaysians may be affected if foreigners are to receive a lower pay, thus encouraging employers to hire more outside workers. The government will definitely not allow this to happen but then it will be difficult to monitor all the employers to check this abuse.

Agriculture is still a labor-intensive sector and with more of the younger generation leaving the rural areas in droves to seek their fortunes in the cities, many farms may have to close because those left behind will find it tough to continue to do the work.

These farmers therefore need plenty of help especially during the planting and harvesting periods or else the produce will not be collected in time for the market.

These are practical difficulties faced by the farmers and the relaxation in the employment of foreign labor will therefore be a big help to keep the farms going.