Employers must adhere to Immigration Dept on E-Card application

PETALING JAYA: Employers of undocumented workers should pay heed to the government's call by registering their employees for the Enforcement Card (E-Card) earlier.
"Employers who have not done so would have to face the law because ample time has been given to them by the Immigration Department. We have been lenient thus far," said Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan (pix) today.
His response comes after Immigration director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali announced that there would not be an extension for the E-card which ends today (June 30).
However, Shamsuddin said workers who have been registered but have yet to receive their E-Card should be given a temporary identification card or document while waiting for their application to be processed which will avoid any untoward incident.
"Should the employers and their workers register today or tomorrow, then the Immigration Department will note those who have followed the procedure," he added.
The card, valid until Feb 15 next year, is to enable employers to apply and rehire them legally in addressing shortages in several key economic sectors.
Only 97,469 cards were issued between Feb 15 and May 31, although there are 400,000 to 500,000 workers, it was noted.
The deadline will not be extended and employers were warned that the department will go on a nationwide crackdown on the undocumented workers on July 1.
The E-Card is only for workers from 15 countries – Bangladesh, the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.