SIBU: The Immigration and Labourers Management Unit under the State Secretary’s Office is looking into shortening the approval period for the application of Letter of Approval in Principle (AP).
The Deputy Minister for Public Health, Housing and Local Government Michael Tiang Ming Tee said that the estimated period for AP application is six months; hence, he said that the time frame is too long.
“From our Sarawak government side, the first mission for this new unit is to look into this procedure and try to redesign the whole thing to shorten it as much as possible… Both Sarawak and the federal governments are on the same page in this matter,” he said.
He said this when met by reporters after a dialogue session with the Sibu Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) and Sarawak Association of Marine Industry (SAMIN) here yesterday (Jan 14).
Tiang also noted that some of the policies have rendered skilled foreign workers who have worked years in Malaysia and the state particularly in need of being sent back to their countries within a certain period.
“After going back to their country, they will need to abide for a cooling period of around six months period before coming back to our country and for them to come back it will take another long process to do it.
“For us to push forward and stimulate our local economy, we cannot lose this skilled worker that has been trained for years in our country due to all these things,” he said.
Tiang stressed that all these issues need to be looked into as the state government needs skilled foreign workers to rebuild the economy, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.
