A construction worker carrying a plank across a scarffolding at a construction site. The recruitment of foreign workers has shifted back to the jurisdiction of the Minister of Home Affairs.—ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star

PETALING JAYA: The Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) Malaysia is surprised by the recent announcement made by Human Resources Minister V Sivakumar to move back the One-Stop Centre (OSC) for the recruitment of foreign workers under the Minister of Home Affairs.

“We strongly support the calls made by other professional bodies to maintain the foreign worker management system under MoHR (Ministry of Human Resources) as it will not only minimise bureaucratic red tape but also streamline the process within one ministry,” said Rehda president Datuk NK Tong.  

The association views the sudden change as a setback to the industry especially as the sector is currently in the recovery stage following the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“A lot of discussions took place among industry players and the Government before we finally came to the decision of appointing MoHR as the custodian of foreign workers-related matters. However, this latest change of policy where two ministries would now be involved will definitely add to more red tapes, leading to further delays,” said Tong. 

“Whilst we understand that the government will only undertake measures to benefit the nation, the call to move the OSC back to the Home Ministry will only cause detriments, especially in the construction industry. At the moment, severe shortage of workers is seriously affecting developers’ output. We hope that MoHR is open to engagement with us and stakeholders of all affected industries in order to find a holistic approach to mitigate this issue,” he said.  

On a related note, Rehda Malaysia would also like to reiterate our call for the government to step in to address the shortage of workers. “More needs to be done to guarantee that construction workers will be available as soon as possible in order for developers to deliver homes to house buyers in a timely manner,” Tong added.  

“In the meantime, Rehda and its members strive to continue carrying out our nation-building role of providing quality, affordable homes to the Rakyat effectively and efficiently,” he said.

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