PETALING JAYA: Delays in bringing in foreign workers would lead to businesses incurring more losses especially now that the cost of labour, fuel and other resources has soared, say palm oil industry players.

       These industry players, who are facing a labour crunch that cuts into their production, called on the government to quickly iron out foreign workers’ issues with source countries.

       Malaysia was set to welcome the first batch of Indonesian workers on Tuesday after reopening its borders, but at the last minute, Indonesia cancelled plans to send its citizens to work in oil palm plantations here, citing visa issues.

       Malaysia is also facing issues in getting Bangladeshi workers.

       Although a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between Malaysia and Bangladesh on Dec 19, 2021, the hiring process of Bangladeshi workers has been stalled due to disagreements over Malaysia’s move to appoint only 25 main Bangladesh Recruitment Agencies out of over 1,500 such firms.

       These delays would lead to businesses incurring more losses especially now that the cost of labour, fuel and other resources had soared, said an industry insider.

       He said the government would need to find amicable solutions which, more often than not, might favour the source countries.

       He acknowledged that bringing in foreign workers, generally, had always hit snags whether they were from Bangladesh or elsewhere.

       “There have been delays over the years, but the pandemic has exacerbated the situation where the shortage of workers is real and serious – not just in our country but many other countries as well,” said the insider.