He said the applications were approved to facilitate the hiring of these workers to meet the country’s economic needs in the post-pandemic period.

He said the ministry implemented the plan based on Bank Negara Malaysia’s recommendations to ease the conditions for hiring foreign workers.

“So far, we have approved 380,000 applications from the foreign workers who overstayed and did not have valid documents so that they can immediately seek employment.

“This relaxation is given in several critical sectors like plantation, agriculture, manufacturing and services,” he told reporters after visiting the Padang Besar ICQS Complex today.

Under the first phase of the plan, industry players needed to hire up to 518,000 foreign workers, he said.

Saifuddin said this was important for the country’s economy, which is expected to grow at 4.5%, as stated in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Budget 2023 speech yesterday.

On another matter, he said the ministry was in the final stages of acquiring body cameras worth RM30 million for use by its agencies, including the police.