A worker loads palm fruits onto a lorry at a plantation in Sepang October 30, 2019. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had on October 22 said that the Covid-19 Pandemic Management Special Committee had approved the SOP on the entry of foreign workers into the country. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon
PUTRAJAYA, Oct 26 — A tight standard operating procedure (SOP) would be set by the government before Malaysia receives 32,000 foreign workers in the palm oil plantation sector, said Minister of Primary Industries and Commodities, Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin.
She said in a statement today that for this sector, foreign workers from Indonesia would be brought in first followed by those from other source countries.
The strict SOP to be enforced on foreign workers would first focus on those recruited for the oil palm plantation sector, she added.
“The details on the mechanism to bring in foreign workers from the source countries will be issued by the government through the Human Resource Ministry (KSM), Home Ministry and Health Ministry.
“All the costs of bringing in the foreign workers will be borne by the employers for every approval obtained,” she said.
Zuraida said the employers should also ensure that all their workers have completed their vaccination with the costs to be fully borne by these employers.
According to her, the Indonesian government also welcomed the procedure set for its citizens working in Malaysia.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had on October 22 said that the Covid-19 Pandemic Management Special Committee had approved the SOP on the entry of foreign workers into the country. — Bernama