A temporary hiring freeze on foreign workers imposed on the industry has businesses hanging by a thread, says M Meenaq Kumar, assistant secretary of the Malaysian Indian Hair Dressing Saloon Owners Association.

He said they had yet to receive a satisfactory answer from the government for the decision.

“Certain officers told us to hire local workers instead, but we have tried that already and it is just not possible,” he added.

He claimed that locals lacked interest in the craft, and those who completed their barbering courses tended to open their own shops instead of working for other people.

“We have tried to take the initiative to bring up local barbers through the association and joint ventures with other parties, but the thing is, the response from locals has not been very good.”

With at least 1,600 vacancies among Mindas members, it would be impossible to meet the demand immediately as the craft of barbering requires skilled workers trained by certified professionals.

“No academy or person can produce 1,600 skilled workers at once. We are not asking for normal workers. It is skilled work.”

Kumaran Gunasegaran, who owns 10 barbershops in the Klang Valley, told FMT that he  was waiting for foreign workers to be allowed in again but was taken aback by the government’s exclusion of barbers from hiring foreign workers.

“A lot of the shops here have shut down. There used to be five barbershops around my area. Now there are only two or three left,” he said.

He also said countless attempts to hire locals had ended with bleak results as many would not show up after one day of work without giving any notice.