by DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Jan 22: The Sarawak Housing and Real Estate Developers’ Association (Sheda) hopes the government will defer the implementation of the new Foreign Workers Transformation Approach (FWTA) fees until more thorough discussions can take place.
In a statement today, Sheda expressed its gratitude to the Sarawak government for being willing to reconsider the fee structure under the FWTA system, as recently reported.
However, it also emphasized the need for further stakeholder engagement to address concerns in the industry regarding the effect of these additional fees on industry players.
Sheda president Augustine CH Wong said, “While Sheda supports the government’s move towards streamlining processes, digitalisation and transparency, the introduction of new FWTA fees amounting to RM1,854 per foreign worker adds operational costs to already steep compliance, construction and infrastructure costs.”
He added, “Sheda echoes the concerns voiced by various industries and agrees that the additional FWTA fees will place financial strain on the labour-intensive industries, which includes the property development industry, as well as the building and construction industry.
“The effect of the additional fees could also cascade into delayed project implementation, reduced investment and higher property prices.”
Sheda said it looks forward to further stakeholder engagement sessions to address this issue and hopes that the implementation of the FWTA fee be deferred pending such engagement. – DayakDaily
