Sim said this was part of his ministry’s efforts to tackle the exploitation of foreign workers, particularly in cases of employers denying them their salaries.

The minister said the labour department received a total of 9,991 complaints against bosses last year, with 9,726 cases investigated and resolved.

“The department also held 502 joint operations with other enforcement agencies on labour issues, as well as 61 enforcement operations to curb human trafficking, particularly forced labour,” he said in a written Dewan Rakyat reply.

Sim added that his ministry had transferred the employment of 3,406 foreign workers to 32 new employers under a special programme, as part of addressing migrant worker exploitation.

Separately, the minister said there were a total of 2,368,422 foreign workers in the country, making up 14% of the total 16.77 million workforce.

Of the 2.36 million migrant workers, Sim said 898,970 were from Bangladesh (37.96%), followed by 582,108 Indonesians (24.58%) and 370,127 Nepalis (15.63%).