Its minister M Saravanan, however, urged employers to give priority to Malaysians to fill these job vacancies.

“Employment of foreign workers must involve those who are still in the country and have valid work permits as well as having worked in the same employment sector.

“Employers are advised to ensure the foreign workers have undergone Covid-19 screening,” he said in a statement.

There had been requests by employers for the government to lift the freeze on the recruitment of foreign workers, claiming there was still a need for them.

As of July, 67,068 local workers and 4,753 foreign workers have been laid off.

Saravanan said employers who intend to rehire foreign workers should first fill out the required form and submit them to the Labour Department headquarters in Putrajaya, or do so by post or email to [email protected].

The form may be downloaded from www.jtksm.mohr.gov.my.