Malaysia to offer 10,000 jobs to Sri Lankans

Malaysian Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, Malaysian Labour Affairs Director General and a team of delegates will be here to sign an MOU to provide 10,000 jobs in Malaysia for Sri Lankans, Labour and Foreign Employment Minister Manusha Nanayakkara said.

They will discuss with Sri Lankan counterparts all related matters and conditions regarding the MOU including areas of employment, salaries, term of employment, etc., the Minister said.

“Malaysian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Dato Tan Yang Thai informed me of the decision taken by the Malaysian Government to provide 10,000 job opportunities to Sri Lankans following a request by me. We discussed all matters related to the MOU,” Minister Nanayakkara said.

He said that earlier such opportunities were given to countries like India and Bangladesh. “On June 23, I made a request to Minister Saravanan to give Sri Lankans an opportunity as well to work in Malaysia. I would like to convey my gratitude to the Malaysian High Commissioner for his prompt and positive response,” Minister Nanayakkara added.

The Malaysian High Commissioner informed Minister Nanayakkara officially his Government’s decision yesterday. He had also informed Minister Nanayakkara of the Malaysian delegation’s visit to Sri Lanka in October.

This will be the first time that Sri Lanka signs an MOU with Malaysia on a bilateral basis on employment. When Nanayakkara was the Deputy Minister for Foreign Employment in 2018, the two countries signed an MOU for Sri Lankans to get job-related training in Malaysia.

“This is a milestone in the diplomatic relations between our two countries, because earlier such opportunities were only open for South Asian countries like India and Bangladesh. As the Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment, I would like to thank the Malaysian Government for their decision. At a time when Sri Lanka is going through an economic crisis, I think the whole country should remember with gratitude the decision taken by Malaysia to help Sri Lanka, Minister Nanayakkara said.