23/01/2011 (The Star Online), Kota Kinabalu - A move by Sabah to allow the entry of foreign workers, apart from Filipinos and Indonesians, has brought a sigh of relief to the state’s oil palm industry.

Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman announced on Jan 17 that the state Cabinet had agreed to allow labourers from Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Vietnam to also work in Sabah.

Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said Sabah plantations were facing an acute shortage of workers, particularly from Indonesia.

“We have to bear in mind that Indonesia is going into palm oil in a big way. So they need their workers as well.

“So, it is good Sabah is opening its labour market, though it is just restricted to four more countries,” he told reporters after meeting industry players and workers here yesterday.

Dompok said while the Federal Government allowed plantations to hire workers from any country, the Sabah Government chose to restrict the intake to four, apart from the Philippines and Indonesia.

Musa had said the state Cabinet also allowed for the work pass of foreign workers — previously renewable for up to five years — to be extended for five more years.

The chief minister said the additional foreign labour does not cover domestic helpers, who would only be Filipino and Indonesian nationals.