TEKAM (Malaysian Association Of Suppliers And Employees Management Of Foreign Workers) would like to partner the government in finding a solution and supplement its efforts in the recruitment of foreign workers into the country.
President of TEKAM Datuk Megat Fairouz Junaidi Tan Sri Megat Junid in welcoming the Government’s announcement on the setting up of a single system to hire foreign workers without differentiating the source countries he said: “We are eager to look and join at the new system. We welcome the plan and we are prepared to make it successful from the point of entry to the point of exit of such legal and trained foreign workers.”
“We support the present government policy to lessen dependence on foreign workers and we are ready to complement and supplement the government’s new effort to meet this objective.”
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad also announced on Aug 14 the setting up of a joint ministerial committee between the Home Ministry and Human Resource Ministry and also an independent committee chaired by either a top government official, former judge or secretary general under the Institute of Labour Market Information and Analysis (ILMIA).
TEKAM set up in 2006 has 149 outsourcing companies as members but since 2010 the companies were not allowed to manage the inflow of foreign workers without any official notice from the previous government. This enforcement forced many members to close their business.
Megat said TEKAM has the expertise to integrate and collaborate with the government in identifying the problematic areas of managing foreign workers issues in Malaysia.
“We have the capability, capacity and experience to supplement and complement government’s efforts in solving the illegal workers problem through our initiative which we have already planned.”
TEKAM has good liaison with foreign recruiting agents in the source country and the ministries of labour which is a key integration factor in the recruitment of workers between Malaysia and the foreign country.
He said TEKAM would like to be integrated and participate with the new committee of Home and Human Resource Ministries so as to share our experiences and expertise in enabling this committee to have hands on information holistically and the history of foreign labour in Malaysia primarily. More important, he said TEKAM would like to have its original status restored.
“This mechanism provides sufficient check and control on the foreign workers that help TEKAM to appeal to the government to put us back to our status quo.”
Megat said that TEKAM would like to be the solution provider to SMEs that make up 92.5% of businesses in Malaysia. TEKAM is capable to set up training centres in the countries of origin to bring in the right worker for the right sector or industry which is the industrial driven concept of upskilling and technology transfer.
“We will assure that there will not be an issue of illegal workers if we are engaged, tracked, supervised, authorised and monitored by the respective ministries.”
TEKAM would provide the solution to eradicate corruption in the recruitment of workers and we agree to be responsible for our members in an ethical and legal engagement of foreign workers recruitment into the country.
“We will also safeguard the Malaysian Employment Act 1955 and provide responsible business ethics in a more professional manner without jeopardising our national security of any kind.”
He said it would be better if the government was able to take care of TEKAM members and the 279 outsourcing companies instead of managing 1 million companies and employers. TEKAM has the expertise in management of foreign workers in Malaysia. The government can engage and collaborate with TEKAM in solving major issues of foreign workers and employers.
“We are the solution to hundreds of foreign recruitment agents arriving into Malaysia and setting up business of which 90% are related to manpower recruitment and cleaning services companies.”
Megat said TEKAM is the solution to repatriate these illegal agents and unscrupulous foreign and local collaborated companies involved in illegal and non-licensed recruitment out of Malaysia. Many of this foreign agents are the ones involved in illegal outsourcing and not TEKAM members as we have ceased bringing in foreign workers since 2010 under the Ministry of Home Affairs directive although we are still the only companies licensed by the government to engage, manage and repatriate foreign workers under employers’ category.
“We will only work with the government ministries and with no 3rd party involvements unlike the present situation where middle agents e.g. Bukti Megah, MyEg and Iman Resources are involved for the rehiring programme.”
Megat recalled that during the tenure of Tun Dr Mahathir as premier in 1996 the policy of legalising foreign workers was successful where over 1.2 million workers were legalised and rehired allowing revenue for the country unlike now where it has been reported by FMM and MTUC whereby we have over five million illegals in the country enjoying the subsidy benefits of our local and the government losing billions of dollars in levy and work permit payments whilst creating so many social ills and problems for the nation.
TEKAM, he said has the system of information in tracking foreign workers and is monitored regularly by government agencies through our monthly reporting like Immigration and Human Resources.
He said our members, the outsourcing companies, have been given exclusive rights to manage foreign workers based on specific terms and conditions provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs which covered the legal requirements.
On the MTUC and the FMM blaming outsourcing companies, Megat said TEKAM members were not involved. We are not illegal companies as we are licensed outsourcing companies monitored by Ministry of Human Resource and Ministry of Home Affairs and have ceased to bring in new foreign workers since 2010 as mentioned earlier.
