KUALA LUMPUR: Expats are contributing RM75bil, about 4.8% of Malaysia's GDP, to the country's economy, says the Home Minister.
Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said that the estimation is from the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC).
In terms of taxes, expats contribute RM100mil in income tax to the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN), he added.
He said that expats contribute also through education for their children, tourist activities, utility bills, investment and household expenses.
Up till Oct 31, he added, there are 120,183 expats in Malaysia, with 64% of them coming from five countries.
Most expats are from China with 27,460, followed by India (23,131), the Philippines (9,302), Japan (8,739) and Indonesia (8,333), he said in response to Datuk Mohd Shahar Abdullah (BN-Paya Besar), who had asked the Home Ministry to state the number and percentage of expatriates in Malaysia by their nationalities and economic contributions from 2019 to 2023.
Saifuddin said that there are three income categories for expats: those earning RM10,000 and above, between RM5,000 and RM9,9000, and between RM3,000 to RM4,999.
Meanwhile, he said that Malaysia has sent a ceiling of 2.58 million foreign workers in the country, which is 15% of the total workforce at 17.2 million individuals.
Currently, he said that there is still a 400,000 deficit before the ceiling of 2,58 million foreign workers is reached.
He clarified that there are two categories of foreign workers, one being expatriates and the other being low-skilled workers, working under sectors like oil palm, construction and fishing.
"For expatriates, the number is only 120,000 out of the 17.2 million workforce, it only makes up 1%," he said, adding that these expats are only hired for a skill not available within the country or are employees paid and employed by foreign companies operating in Malaysia.
While for the foreign workers under the 3D sector, he said that the deficit is worrying at 400,000.
"This is an issue we need to address in terms of policy
"If we freeze it now (hiring of foreign workers)...oil palm fruits cannot be picked, and if the fruits are not picked, the country loses RM28bil a year.
"If there were local workers, the plantation companies would have hired them long ago. That's the reality that we deal with" he said.
This was in response to Dr Abd Ghani Ahmad (PN-Jerlun), who asked if there were any limits to foreign workers, as he claimed that there are 3.4 million foreigners in Malaysia, including expatriates.
