Malaysian Bumiputera Contractors Association (PKBM) secretary-general Zaharani Yusof Omar also said the government should not treat undocumented foreign workers like criminals.

This comes after the Indonesian government imposed a temporary freeze on workers entering Malaysia.

Zaharani said most construction sites were operating with only half their usual workforce after the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in disruptions to many projects.

He said the shortage was not attributed solely to a lack of workers from Indonesia, but from other countries as well.

“Why don’t we want to whitelist (legalise) them? If the government does so, they can collect levies and payments for permits, and this will keep the economy going,” Zaharani told FMT.

He also said the government should be compassionate and offer undocumented foreigners jobs after they were legalised.

“We need to help them and let them work in the industries that need manpower. Some of them are victims who have been exploited by middlemen,” he said.

The association had previously said the construction industry was facing a shortage of 500,000 workers as most foreign workers had returned home.

In 2020, the federal government launched a recalibration plan for undocumented workers, with successful applicants placed in the manufacturing, construction, plantation and agriculture sectors.

However, the programme came under criticism with some arguing it was complex and had failed to meet its objectives.