Foreigner-reliant industries struggling due to plan's closure earlier this year
Employers across Malaysia have staged a peaceful assembly in front of the Home Ministry to request an extension of the Manpower Recalibration Programme (RTK) 2.0, according to reports.
Nearly 100 employers attended the peaceful assembly, a portion of the more than 400 employers who are appealing for the extension of the payment period for registering foreign workers under RTK2.0, Bernama reported.
The RTK 2.0 was re-introduced by the Malaysian government last year as a measure to regularise illegal immigrants in the country. It has been shut down since March 31.
Syah Putra Marwan, who represented the employers, said they filed a memorandum appealing for the scheme's reopening, citing the struggles faced by foreigner-reliant industries.
"This [closure of RTK] will make it difficult for sectors that heavily rely on foreign workers, such as construction, plantation, manufacturing, and services," Syah Putra said as quoted by Bernama.
Some employers who had also paid levies and other fees, such as the Foreign Workers' Medical Examination Monitoring Agency and insurance, were also unable to complete payments because of the scheme's shut down.
As a result, Syah Putra said employers are now incurring losses as they cannot register their workers, while approximately 5,000 foreign workers undergoing the regularisation process are at risk of being detained.
Extending Recalibration Programme 2.0
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasutian Ismail previously said there was no need to extend the registration for the RTK 2.0, citing the simplified and faster process to register foreign workers, Bernama reported.
But the Immigration Department said there were employers who failed to settle the process, such as turning up for their appointments, just weeks before the plan's closure.
Immigration Department director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh even reminded employers to "not wait until the last minute to complete the legalisation of their foreign workers," The Star reported.
