PUTRAJAYA: About 1,000 foreign workers have been brought into the country but were left without jobs and the authorities are tracking down those who put these workers in a fix, says Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

The Home Minister said there were irresponsible parties who had taken advantage of the relaxation of regulations to bring in foreign workers.

However, instead of having confirmed employment, these agents or employers then advertised on social media offering foreign workers to those in need, he said.

“This issue was presented by the Human Resources Ministry. This is against our policy.

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“We are in the midst of identifying the culprits. Those responsible for this, be it agents or employers, will be blacklisted,” he said to reporters after co-chairing the joint committee meeting on the management of foreign workers on Tuesday (June 27).

Saifuddin Nasution said several measures will be proposed to resolve the issue, which will be presented to the Cabinet for approval.

While he declined to elaborate, one of them will be to facilitate these workers in getting employment.

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“We want this issue to be resolved quickly as we do not want it to affect our position in the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report next year,” he added.

Malaysia has been “promoted” to the Tier 2-Watch List in the 2023 Report, after being placed on Tier 3 in 2021 and 2022.

Saifuddin Nasution also said about 400,000 foreign workers have been hired by employers in the five critical sectors as of June.

This leaves another 100,000-odd quota to be filled to meet these sectors’ need for foreign workers, estimated to be 518,000, he added.

The minister said the quota was filled through the relaxation of regulations and the recalibration programme.