A challenge: The manpower shortage is acute, say Hussein and Kong.

       JOHOR BARU: Businesses here continue to be dragged down by the lack of manpower, especially during the festive season as foreign workers make their way home after being away for at least two years. Johor Indian Muslim Entrepreneur Association (Perusim) secretary Hussein Ibrahim said that he offered his workers, who are mostly from India, extra bonuses in order to persuade them to stay on during the festive season.

       “Most of them later decided to stay for Hari Raya Aidilfitri following the offer while some went back. Even with that, we are still facing a dire lack of manpower,” he said.

       “Currently, my children and I are also attending to our two restaurants in Johor Baru as we do not have enough workers to cope with the increasing number of customers we are now receiving.

       “My efforts to employ local workers have also not been successful so far as many are not interested in working in the restaurant line.”

       Hussein currently employs 25 foreign workers from India and they have all expressed hope to reunite with their families back home after Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

       “We understand that they miss their loved ones, especially since they have not seen their family members for at least two years.

       “They will likely take some time off after the festive season to visit their families back home and I’m not sure whether they will return.

       “I may have to close at least one or even both my restaurants if I am not able to find people to replace them soon.

       “This problem would cause losses to businesses here now that we are finally seeing things improve after so long,” he said.

       Johor Master Builders Association president Kong Weng Keong said there was an overwhelming shortage of at least 100,000 workers for the construction sector in Johor alone.

       “It is common for foreign workers to return to their home countries during the festive season such as Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

       “However, the biggest problem for us at the moment is not really about the workers ‘going out’ of the country but rather on the delay of them returning.

       “Currently, it is observed that the process of bringing in foreign workers could take somewhere between eight and nine months, and that is assuming the applications go smoothly. It could be longer if there are issues,” Kong said.

       He said urgent attention from the government is needed to establish a one-stop centre for applications to hire foreign workers to expedite the whole process.

       “From our observation, it takes only about one month for countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Singapore to process and approve foreign worker applications.

       “With the technology and information we have today, we trust that the Malaysian government could do the same, if not better, to expedite the entire process.

       “The availability of foreign labour workforce is definitely a major driver that we cannot afford to miss out on and underestimate both in the short and long run,” he said.

       Johor Baru City Businessmen and Traders Association president Roland Lim Chin Eng said it was common for foreign workers, especially those from neighbouring Indonesia, to return home for Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

       “It is normal for them to go home for at least a week for Hari Raya but they will usually come back after the holidays.

       “However, since the pandemic, those who had gone home rarely came back. The situation persists despite the reopening of the border.

       “On the other hand, the process for us to bring in new workers is also taking longer and is getting more complicated these days,” he said.

       “This has worsened the problem.”