PETALING JAYA, Aug 14 (Sin Chew Daily) — Employers unable to hire locals to fill in the vacancies will now be allowed to re-hire foreign workers.

In a statement, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Saravanan Murugan said employers would be allowed to re-hire foreign workers with valid permits in the country.

According to Human Resources Ministry records, the minister said a total of 67,068 Malaysians and 4,753 foreign workers were laid off as of July this year. Some employers claimed that they needed foreign workers and urged the government to revoke the new measure of suspending the hiring of foreign workers.

Saravanan urged employers to give priority to local workers to fill in their vacancies.

The government would exempt employers from the ruling to hire unemployed foreign workers if they do not receive encouraging responses from Malaysians to fill in the vacancies, he said.

"The foreign workers must be in Malaysia with valid working permits and work in the same industry," he said.

Saravanan also said his ministry would work with Home Affairs Ministry on the re-hiring scheme to help the country's economic recovery.

He urged employers to ensure the re-hiring of foreign workers was based on the standard operating procedures by carrying out COVID-19 tests.

Employers can visit MYEG's website to check on foreign workers who have undergone COVID-19 tests.

Employers intending to re-hire foreign workers laid off by their previous employers must submit the application forms to the Ministry of Human Resources in Putrajaya or email to [email protected].

For more details please visit the ministry's website.