Palm oil sector to get 32,000 foreign workers

Tight SOPs will be set by the government before Malaysia receives 32,000 foreign workers in the palm oil plantation sector, Primary Industries and Commodities Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said today.

In a statement, she said that for this sector, foreign workers from Indonesia would be brought in first followed by those from other source countries.

The strict SOPs to be enforced for foreign workers will first focus on those recruited for the oil palm plantation sector, she added.

“The details of the mechanism to bring in foreign workers from source countries will be issued by the government through the human resources ministry, home ministry and health ministry.

“All costs of bringing in the foreign workers will be borne by the employers for every approval obtained,” she said.

Zuraida said employers should also ensure that all of their workers have completed their vaccination with the costs to be fully borne by these employers.

According to her, the Indonesian government has also welcomed the procedure set for its citizens working in Malaysia.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Oct 22 said that the Covid-19 Pandemic Management Special Committee had approved the SOPs for the entry of foreign workers into the country.