By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Dec 8: Federation of Sri Aman Chinese Associations president Dato’ Dr Ngu Piew Seng has urged the Sarawak government to immediately review the RM1,854 fee imposed on employers under the Foreign Workers Transformation Approach (FWTA), describing it as unusually high and a heavy burden on businesses.
Ngu, who is also president of the Sri Aman Chinese Chamber of Commerce, said the total cost, which comes to RM2,002.30 after service tax, makes Sarawak the only State in Malaysia to impose such charges.
“These charges did not exist under the previous system and represent a substantial increase.
“Previously, employers only needed to pay for medical check-ups, permit fees and the levy,” he said in a statement today.
He explained that since the FWTA and Sarawak Advanced Non-Sarawakian Online Labour System (SANSOLS) system took effect on Jan 15, employers are required to pay for several new components including the Approval in Principle (AP) fee of RM950, the Labour Licence fee of RM335, the Visa with Reference (VDR) fee of RM215, registration with the Sarawak Foreigners Health Information System (SAFHIS) for RM30 and the Foreign Worker Identification Card (FWIC/NSIC) costing RM324.
These charges, he said, were previously free or did not exist.
Ngu said the sudden introduction of these payments has placed tremendous pressure on labour-reliant industries such as plantation, construction, timber, manufacturing and shipbuilding.
He warned that the added cost has significantly raised operational expenses and could threaten the survival of some businesses.
“With federal fees already increasing year after year, an additional RM1,854 system charge imposed by the Sarawak government leaves employers with no room at all. It has created a double financial burden,” he pointed out.
Ngu also questioned the substantial amount collected by the State government or its appointed agent since FWTA came into force.
Citing official figures, he said the State had received 18,554 AP applications and approved 106,242 worker quotas. Based on the RM1,854 charge per worker, he estimated that the State had collected RM196,972,668, which is close to RM197 million.
“The government repeatedly claims the fees are used for building Integrated Labour Centres (ILCs), developing the FWTA platform and its ecosystem and maintaining long-term infrastructure.
“Yet no detailed cost estimations, budget breakdowns, investment figures, procurement processes or beneficiary entities have ever been made public,” he asserted.
He further stressed that businesses have the right to know how much the system development and infrastructure actually cost and whether the fees imposed are reasonable.
Ngu also called on the government to review the fee structure, consider waiving or reducing the RM1,854 charge, or suspend it until the system stabilises.
He said stronger engagement with industry players is needed and full transparency reports on FWTA’s investment and development costs should be released.
“Sarawak is the only State in Malaysia imposing such fees. If the charges are deemed unreasonable, they will undermine Sarawak’s industrial competitiveness, discourage investment and negatively impact labour-intensive sectors,” he warned.
He concluded that the business community supports the State’s intention to modernise foreign worker management but any reform must be reasonable, transparent, sustainable and should not become an added burden on businesses. – DayakDaily
