Govt to review overlap functions of 2 foreign workers management systems

 06 Jul 2024,

PUTRAJAYA: 

The government will further review its use of two separate foreign worker management systems that allegedly have overlapping functions, as revealed by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) last Wednesday.

Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the home ministry is looking into it and will also examine the PAC’s findings regarding the two systems.

We must improve current practices. We will make every effort to enhance them,

 he told reporters after flagging off participants in the Police Day Run here.

Last Wednesday, PAC, in its parliamentary report, revealed that there were overlapping functions between agencies in developing the foreign worker management systems and this had caused a wastage of public funds.

It said the systems are the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS) and the Integrated Foreign Workers Management System (ePPAx), under both the human resources ministry and home ministry.

According to PAC, the home ministry has been using the FWCMS for roughly six years without a finalised contract, which is a clear violation of government regulations.

The PAC also discovered weaknesses in the identification (ID) control management in the FWCMS, with two IDs held by non-HR ministry officers as well as 24 unauthorised users found to have approved 24 employer applications.

PAC chairman Mas Ermieyati Samsudin was also reported to have said that the case has been reported to the police to enable investigations to begin.