PETALING JAYA: There were elements of fraud and manipulation in the recruitment and management of foreign workers in the country, according to the Auditor-General’s Report.
From 2016 to 2018, a total of 22,901 foreign workers found jobs in sub-sectors for which their recruitment was already frozen.
This resulted in fewer employment opportunities for Malaysians.
The report also highlighted discrepancies in health screening procedures.
For instance, it said, 84,672 migrant workers underwent health screening in their home countries but a total of 1,708 failed the Malaysian immigration security clearance (ISC) screening on arrival.
It said that 17,520 workers failed the health screening tests conducted by Fomema although they passed the same test in their home countries.
On another issue, it said the 1Malaysia Training Scheme (SL1M), one of whose objectives is to help undergrads secure jobs, had been riddled with problems.
The report said that apart from weaknesses in the financial management of the programme, problems were also found in procurement, monitoring of companies that were given contracts under the programme as well as the process of certifying the companies that were eligible for double tax deduction incentives.
