By Mazwin Nik Anis

PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA: The Immigration Department has unwittingly been helping irresponsible employers cheat foreign workers of their salary.

The employers would cancel their workers' work permits and terminate contracts before informing the Immigration Department that the workers were overstaying.

The department would then send enforcement officers to haul the workers away without hearing the workers' side of the story.

Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said he was informed of a few incidents where employers had terminated the services of their foreign workers who, while awaiting their salaries, were arrested by the department for overstaying.

"I will be discussing with Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar on how we can overcome this problem. Foreigners who are legally employed here have rights and their rights must be protected.

"We will look into how they can continue to stay here while waiting for their employers to settle salary payments or if the case is brought to court, until the case is resolved," he told reporters after attending the ministry's Christmas luncheon yesterday.

Dr Subramaniam said there was a proposal to give the ministry powers to decide which sector should be given the approval to employ foreign workers and the number of people that could be employed.

He said the matter, which was still on the drawing board, would ensure that Malaysians would not be deprived of jobs.