Malaysia legalisation drive to boost palm oil workforce

Malaysia's plantation industry can start to employ undocumented migrant workers already in the country once the government moves to legalise their status from 16 November, according to home affairs minister Hamzah Zainudin.

Many producers agree the proposal may ease the labour shortage likely to have suppressed palm oil output since the government froze overseas hiring in June. But the programme may have limited impact on the palm oil industry as many targeted migrants are already working illegally in the plantation sector, said the secretary of Malaysia's estate owners' association Kam Sang Kok.

The World Bank estimated between 1.23mn-1.46mn undocumented migrants worked in Malaysia in 2017 without assessing the breakdown by sector. Documented foreigners make up 80-85pc of the plantation workforce, or 265,000 people, according to data from the Malaysian palm oil board.

The government aims to help sectors that are struggling to attract local employees amid restrictions to combat Covid-19 with its "undocumented migrant recalibration plan", Zainudin said. The proposal should also generate around 95mn ringgit ($23mn) in government revenue, he added.

Malaysia's immigration and labour departments will jointly run the programme until 30 June next year, which will allow employers in the plantation, agriculture, construction and manufacturing sectors to hire previously undocumented workers, under certain yet unspecified conditions.

By Lauren Moffitt