Govt to review wage threshold for expats in Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: The Human Resources Ministry is setting up an independent committee to review the current wage threshold for foreign professionals or expatriates working in Malaysia.

Its minister M. Kulasegaran said the move is geared towards reducing the number of foreign professionals and open up opportunities for Malaysians.

He said the committee would conduct a study to see if expatriates can only apply for the jobs with a monthly salary of RM5,000 and above, compared to current threshold salary for expatriates under Category III semi-skilled, which was at RM3,000 per month.

Kulasegaran said jobs under Category III, with a monthly salary between RM3,000 and RM5,000, should only be filled by locals.

“The salary threshold ranging between RM3,000 to RM5,000 should be increased. This is the bracket that Malaysians can easily fill; why do we want expatriates to fill them up?” he said.

He said only five percent out of 71,000 foreign workers working here fall under the RM3,000 and RM5,000 threshold.

However, the minister noted that while the ministry places the needs of Malaysians first, it also acknowledged and welcomed foreign investors and global expertise.

He was speaking to the media during a visit to the Talentcorp Malaysia office here on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Kulasegaran said that last year, a total of 480 Malaysian professionals returned to Malaysia last year under the Returning Expert Programme (REP), which he attributed to the change in government.

He said applications for REP – facilitates the return of Malaysian professionals from abroad to overcome the shortage of professional and technical talent – saw a 20 per cent increase in 2018.

“There are about one million Malaysians living abroad and we are working on ways to encourage them to come back home,” he added.

Factors that encouraged Malaysians to stay or work abroad, he said, were exposure, connections and a substantially better income.

“According to the World Bank, many Malaysians living abroad are highly skilled. About 150,000 Malaysians who are living in European, the United States and Canada (OECD) countries completed their higher education studies.

“These Malaysians would regularly visit Malaysia and it indicates that they are still interested in coming back despite living abroad,” he said.

Meanwhile, Talentcorp deputy chief executive officer N. Sivakumaren said they are expecting 1,000 Malaysians (living abroad) to return to the country this year.

Source: NST