This is the third such extension after the policy was initially announced in March 2023.

Saifuddin said the number of registered foreign workers in the country is currently 45,000 short of the 2.58 million foreign worker ceiling set by the economy ministry, reported Bernama.

“The ceiling is set at 15% of the 17.2 million workforce in the country,” he said after a joint committee meeting between the home ministry and human resources ministry on migrant worker management in Kuala Lumpur today.

“The joint committee’s approval for quotas will be guided by this figure.

“Therefore, we have decided to maintain the freeze until the next joint committee meeting, which is scheduled for the first quarter of next year.”

On a separate issue, Saifuddin said both the home ministry and human resources ministry had also agreed in principle to allow employers to hire prisoners but those sentenced for crimes such as murder or rape will not be considered.

He said the policy would help accelerate prisoners’ integration into society, reduce dependency on foreign workers and address overcrowding in prisons — where the 87,000 inmates nationwide surpass the prisons current capacity of 74,000 prisoners.

Saifuddin said the prisons department’s engagement with employers has found that 400 employers, who had previously participated in a pilot project, had welcomed the opportunity to hire inmates.