CNI News
25 August 2022
Employers from Malaysia have suspended the applications to recruit new workers including the ones from Myanmar starting from August 15th to 31st, said U San Win, Chairman of Myanmar Social Assistance Association to CNI News Agency.
Sending Burmese workers to Malaysia has been halted since March 2020 due to Covid and the priority is being given to workers from old job postings who were recruited until March 18th, 2020.
U San Win, Chairman of the Myanmar Social Assistance Association said, “Because the political situation in Malasia is a little volatile as well. Another thing is that it is also a time where the workers are arresting illegal workers. Once the period of illegal residence ends, the number of workers who didn’t make that cut, we will grant the permits for recruitments of workers. After the arrest, they will general count the workers, how many workers are there currently? How many didn’t make the cut? Now approximately how many workers are left, then which country, which sector to be focused on, etc. The grant permits for these kinds of things.”
It is not yet known when the Malaysian government will resume operations for employers to give out applications to recruit new workers. In order to apply for this, it must be submitted step by step to the relevant government departments and this process can even be extended till 2023, he said.
Currently, a lot of young people from Myanmar go to Thailand and Malaysia through both legal and illegal means and there have been many arrests in Malaysia at the moment. Not only those enter through illegal means but also the undocumented in Malaysia are being arrested.
seeing a construction site in Malaysia
Since the application to recruit new workers has been stopped, the illegal entry into Malaysia is likely to increase, said Arakanese Community Malaysia (ARRC) Vice President Ko Aung Min Tun to CNI Press.
He said, “You can roughly say that. The situation in Myanmar is gradually worsening. Since it’s getting worse, there will be more people coming here through illegal means due to the difficulties. But they ask the UN for help if something happens. But the UN can’t do much for the ones who came down through the illegal means.”
In addition, the new policy of recruiting foreign workers in Malaysia next year is being prepared and drafted to apply the change, and is currently being negotiated with government departments but it has not yet been confirmed.
U San Win, Chairman of the Myanmar Social Assistance Association said, “Agriculture-wise, the number of workers in this culture is low. When it is low, there is a slow productivity in the processes such as oil palm and rubber. There are many things that cannot be sent abroad.
When production falls, there’s less exports. They will mainly recruit in parts like agriculture and construction. In those areas, the remaining people are also illegal foreigners. They are trying to legalize these illegal foreigners.”
It is to Thailand where the largest proportion of Burmese citizens go abroad to work. The second largest is Malaysia and most Myanmar workers mainly work in factories and the restaurant business and only a few work in the construction industry.
