KUCHING: Restaurants and coffeeshops in Sarawak can still cope despite being short on staff but are calling on the government to make it easier for them to hire foreign workers.

       Sarawak Restaurants Association chairman Stanley Hu said the shortage was not as bad now compared with the situation before the Hari Raya and Gawai festive seasons.

       He said restaurants were mostly hiring part-timers at night when operations were at their busiest.

       “We can still cope but service is a bit slower,” he said yesterday.

       Hu said restaurant owners would like to hire Indonesian workers but it was difficult to do so.

       “We hope the government can make the process easier,” he said, adding that local workers did not stay long in the industry.

       Kuching Coffeeshop and Restaurant Owners Association committee member Tan Yit Sheng also called for relaxed procedures in getting work permits for foreign workers.

       “If we apply through agents, the fees are very high.

       “Perhaps, the Immigration Department can brief us on how to apply directly for foreign workers instead of going through agents,” he said.