Counters to open beyond Feb 28

Tossing for a good year: Liow (centre), Minister in the Prime Minister

KLUANG: The Cabinet has decided to allow the Immigration Department counters for foreign workers’ permits to be opened beyond Feb 28.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said that the decision to keep the counters open had been agreed at the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday.

“The counters will remain open until a more comprehensive plan to resolve the issue is achieved,” he said in a press conference after attending the Kluang MCA Chinese New Year celebration dinner in Kampung Paya here last night.

Liow was speaking on concerns raised by 34 business associations which voiced out their unhappiness and inconvenience over the counters that would be closed on Feb 28.

They wanted the counters to remain open as it was costly to do the renewal process online and wanted to stick to the old method.

The online renewal system, which began on Jan 5 by MyEG (My E.G. Services Berhad), has led to diverse opinions, especially on its RM38 service charge for each worker.

Liow added that this would give the businesses an alternative to choose whether they wanted to renew their employees’ permit online or manually over the counter.

The MCA president also said the Cabinet suggested the Government form a centralised body to provide one-stop service for foreign worker permit matters soon.

“We all know that the process to register and renew foreign workers’ permits is long and tedious, so a centralised body will provide a lot of convenience to employers and save costs as well,” he said, adding that the proposal was first brought up by MCA in the Cabinet.

In George Town on Tuesday, Liow advised parents to monitor the activities of their children to ensure they were not “brainwashed” by people who were bent on promoting extremism.

“We should be aware of the political developments in the Middle East, particularly of IS (Islamic State) which is influencing and recruiting children and teenagers,” he said at the Bukit Gelugor MCA division Chinese New Year open house in Paya Terubong.

He also took DAP to task for influencing the Chinese to vote for PAS, which is pushing for the implementation of hudud in Kelantan.

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‘Keep over-the-counter renewals open for good’