In a statement, the party’s central committee member said they welcomed the government’s decision to stop the intake of new migrant workers, but warned it would not resolve the problem if wages were not raised or complemented by other initiatives.

“The government must be honest about Malaysian workers and 3D jobs, it is untrue that the migrant workforce is only working in the 3D sectors,” she said, adding almost 50% of them worked in manufacturing and services.

“It is also untrue that Malaysian workers shun 3D jobs as more than 300,000 Malaysians are in 3D jobs in Singapore, and in Malaysia, 100% of Indah Water workers are locals,” she said, attributing this to the higher wages.

She explained that the lack of a comprehensive policy on the intake and management of migrant workers, and maintaining differentials on wages and other monetary incentives between the migrant and local workforce, had resulted in a situation where employers hired migrant workers to replace Malaysian workers.

Rani said if the government was serious about attracting Malaysian workers it must admit that the current minimum wage was not suitable for the current cost of living.

“So the government must raise wages to a more realistic level, or complement low wages with a social wage, such as subsidised housing.”

Rani also said the government must review its system of legalising undocumented workers to ensure the mistakes of the failed 6P are not repeated.

Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced that Putrajaya had decided to stop the recruitment of new foreign workers with immediate effect.

He said employers who wanted to hire foreign workers should recruit from among foreign employees already in the country, including those whose permits had expired.