OVER 400 EMPLOYERS APPEAL FOR RTK 2.0 EXTENSION

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 25 (Bernama) -- More than 400 employers have appealed to the Home Ministry (KDN) to extend the payment period for registering foreign workers under the Manpower Recalibration Programme (RTK) 2.0.

Syah Putra Marwan, a representative of the employers, said the closure of RTK 2.0 without any prior notice has affected employers' efforts to comply with the law by regularising undocumented migrants in the country as legal foreign workers.

"This (closure of RTK) will make it difficult for sectors that heavily rely on foreign workers, such as construction, plantation, manufacturing and services," he told the media at a peaceful assembly attended by nearly 100 employers at KDN here today.

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He said approximately 5,000 foreign workers undergoing the regularisation process are now at risk of being detained, even though they have taken steps to comply with the law through the RTK programme.

Syah Putra said employers in the process of applying for RTK were unable to make payments under RTK 2.0 due to the closure and are now facing losses as they cannot register their workers.

He also claimed that some employers had already paid levies and other fees, such as the Foreign Workers' Medical Examination Monitoring Agency (FOMEMA) and insurance, but were unable to complete payments because the system was no longer operational.

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As a result, Syah Putra said a memorandum has been submitted to KDN, requesting the reopening of the RTK 2.0 programme.

The memorandum was received by the Home Minister's press secretary Norhayati Abd Manaf.

On March 10, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail was reported as saying that the government would not extend the foreign worker verification process for all employers registered under RTK 2.0 before March 31.

In fact, KDN had previously announced that unused quotas for hiring foreign workers would be cancelled on June 1.

Active quotas for hiring foreign workers, for which levies had been paid but Visa With Reference (VDR) had not been issued by the end of March, would also be cancelled.

-- BERNAMA