He said it was unnecessary and would discourage foreign direct investment (FDI).
The Ipoh Barat MP said the new requirements for hiring overseas workers would deter multinational corporations from setting up operations here, which in turn would slow local job creation.
“The new process announced by the ministry of human resources is not only unnecessary but will burden businesses that are already in Malaysia and deter those who intend to come here,” he said in a statement.
Kula’s comments come in response to a statement made by Human Resources Minister M Saravanan on Monday that employers who wished to hire foreign workers through a rehiring programme and apply for expatriate recruitment would first have to advertise the vacancies on the national employment portal MYFutureJobs, effective Nov 1.
The candidates will also be interviewed by representatives of employers and agencies of the ministry of human resources, namely the Social Security Organisation (Socso).
Foreign workers or expatriates will only be considered if there are no Malaysians who are interested in applying for the position.
“Why make the process harder when the current system works fine and instead be completely oblivious to the consequences of this new policy?”
Kula questioned why the decision was made without first consulting stakeholders like employer and employee groups, chambers of commerce and businesses.
He also said the procedure calling for a Socso official to attend every expatriate interview would be “foolish,” as it would be invasive and “privacy for these companies’ hiring process will no longer exist.”
The move would be counter-intuitive to the country’s goal of positioning itself as a business friendly nation and a supply chain hub, Kula said, as it would drive countries away from doing business here.
“I urge the Perikatan Nasional government to reconsider this grave mistake. Create more business-friendly institutional frameworks that will serve to drive more FDIs and in return create more new jobs that will benefit Malaysians.”