PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) expressed full support for the Human Resources Ministry’s initiative to digitalise the recruitment of foreign workers through the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS).
In a statement on Saturday (Aug 22), MEF president Datuk Dr Syed Hussain Syed Husman called the transition to a fully online platform a timely step toward improving efficiency, predictability, and transparency in foreign worker management.
"Digitalisation would reduce unnecessary physical visits, shorten processing time, and provide greater transparency for employers while strengthening government oversight of the process," Syed Hussain stated. He added that the shift is vital for sectors facing severe labour shortages that rely on foreign labour to supplement the domestic workforce.
While welcoming Human Resources Minister Datuk Sri R. Ramanan's efforts to modernise recruitment, MEF emphasised that digitalisation should streamline compliance rather than relax existing regulatory standards.
To optimise system performance, MEF proposed several key measures, including: Implementing end-to-end real-time application tracking; establishing clear service-level approval timelines, such as 14-day processing benchmarks; enforcing a "single submission" data policy across participating government agencies; ensuring robust system capacity, cybersecurity, and maintenance; and maintaining dedicated human helpdesk channels for complex issues.
Additionally, MEF endorsed the government's phased foreign worker quota allocations—including the restaurant sector—and welcomed plans to evaluate a pilot Foreign Worker Transit Centre aimed at preventing point-of-entry congestion.
