The Klang MP told FMT that he was surprised to read that Bangladesh nationals made up the majority of expatriates in the country as previous media reports on Bangladesh workers were mostly about low-skilled workers.
“I have not heard of Malaysia bringing in expatriates from Bangladesh to work in Malaysia.
“What jobs are these expatriates doing and why aren’t locals prioritised for these jobs?” he said, in asking the government to disclose these figures.
“The government must also investigate the claim made by the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) that the expatriate loophole is being exploited.”
Yesterday, MTUC Secretary-General N Gopal Kishnam claimed many Bangladesh nationals were being brought in as expatriates through a loophole in the rules.
This came in the wake of a report that Bangladeshis formed the majority of the 166,817 foreigners working in Malaysia in managerial positions and at jobs requiring technical skills.
By law, these employees must be paid a minimum of RM5,000 a month.
They are categorised as “expatriates”, a term that the government does not apply to foreign workers employed in jobs that pay less.
Santiago’s call for the authorities to investigate was echoed by Batu Gajah MP V Sivakumar.
The Perak DAP deputy chairman also said many Bangladesh nationals were still coming into the country despite the freeze on foreign labour and voiced doubt that many of them were tourists.
“The government must reveal what sectors these expatriates are working in and what jobs they are doing.
“If these are jobs which locals can do, why can’t locals do them? After all, the pay for expatriates is attractive,” he told FMT.
Yesterday, it was reported that according to home ministry statistics, Bangladeshis accounted for most of the expatriates in the country, followed by expatriates from India, China, the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
According to the report, most of the expatriates work in the services industry, followed by the construction and IT industries.
In Malaysia, “non-expatriate” foreign workers are allowed to work in only five sectors – construction, manufacturing, plantation, agriculture and services.
Read also:
: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2016/11/04/bangladeshis-get-bulk-of-high-powered-expat-jobs/