Malaysia to lay off 15,000 foreigners a month

In a bid to protect domestic workers from retrenchment following global financial crisis, Malaysian government has planned to recruit 15,000 locals every month by replacing foreigners, including Indian, working in various sectors in the country.

The government has said that it is to identify a few sectors where its citizens could work replacing foreigners.

The Human Resources Ministry is looking at turning over to locals 15,000 jobs a month currently held by foreign workers, local media said here today.

At least 15 sectors could be identified, one of them being service industry, Star paper said.

Malaysia relies on the services of foreign professionals for its constructions industry, plantations, restaurants, security and housekeeping. Most of them are sourced from India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan.

The ministry would identify jobs suitable for locals to take over from foreign workers, Human Resources Minister S Subramaniam said.

"The aim is to ensure that priority for these jobs is given to locals who have been retrenched," Subramaniam said, adding that both employers and employees must have a change of mindset.