Increased number of foreign workers arriving as companies scramble to meet tomorrow’s deadline

PUTRAJAYA: According to Datuk Ruslin Jusoh, director-general of the Immigration Department, the sudden surge of foreign workers into Malaysia is the result of firms scrambling to fulfil the foreign worker deadline, which is tomorrow, May 31.

Under typical circumstances, he added, there would be 500 to 1,000 foreign workers arriving each day; but, on May 22 and May 27, there were 2,500 and 4,500 arrivals everyday, respectively.

According to information from airlines that have boosted flight frequency to meet demand, “the Immigration Department expects arrival numbers to continue to increase until tomorrow,” he stated in a statement today.

Ruslin stated that in order to alleviate the situation and ensure the comfort of passengers, his team and Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd had moved quickly to control the congestion at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

He said that more counters have been added to expedite the review and verification process, and more immigration officers have been hired to oversee the arrival of foreign workers and oversee their welfare, including the provision of food and drink at the KLIA terminal.

“The Immigration Department will keep an eye on things and work to make them better. Additionally, it exhorts employers to fully cooperate by showing up right away to finish their employees’ immigration inspections, which will lessen traffic at the arrival hall, he added.

According to reports, on March 8, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail declared that, for reasons of national security, the ministry will not change its mind on the May 31, 2024 deadline for employing foreign workers through the Labour Recalibration Programme (RTK) 2.0.

All Home Ministry enforcement agencies as well as pertinent ministries involved in the recalibration programme came to the conclusion collaboratively. – BERNAMA