No need for more foreign workers for now, says Ramanan

Human resources minister R Ramanan stated that the Malaysian government has no plans to bring in more foreign workers at the moment, despite rumors suggesting that 200,000 Bangladeshi workers would be employed over the next six months. Ramanan emphasized the government's commitment to reducing Malaysia's reliance on foreign workers to 10% of the total workforce by 2030.

He questioned the feasibility of bringing in over 1,000 Bangladeshis every day, calling it illogical and not making sense. The minister's comments came in response to Bangladeshi junior minister Mir Shahe Alam's claim about the influx of workers. Discussions with his Bangladeshi counterpart revealed some confusion over the statement, which he clarified was not the official position of Dhaka.

Government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil also denied the claim, stating that the Bangladeshi junior minister's statement did not represent the official position of Bangladesh. Ramanan explained that the intake of foreign workers depends on the needs of individual industries and sectors, subject to a ceiling set by the economy ministry under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP).

The government had previously maintained the foreign worker ceiling at 13% of Malaysia's total workforce, after reducing reliance on foreign labor from 15%. Deputy investment, trade, and industry minister Sim Tze Tzin also affirmed that Malaysia would not increase its reliance on foreign labor despite business demands.