Improve housing for workers, govt told

KUALA LUMPUR: The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) has urged the government to establish a National Action Plan on Labour Quarters to address the critical shortage of proper worker housing nationwide.
Its president Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai said the plan should be developed in collaboration with the Local Government and Development Ministry, the Human Resources Ministry, and local authorities.
"The key proposals include fast-tracked approvals for the development of Centralised Labour Quarters (CLQ) and Temporary Labour Quarters (TLQ), targeted incentives for developers and employers to build or retrofit proper worker housing, and public-private partnership models aligned with local and industrial development strategies," he said in a statement today.
Soh said the critical shortage of CLQ and TLQ, especially in key industrial zones and logistics hubs, continued to affect worker welfare and placed significant compliance pressure on employers under the Workers' Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990 (Act 446).
FMM's call follows Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's Labour Day address, in which he stressed the need to redefine minimum housing standards for workers, declaring that "one-room-one-toilet housing is no longer suitable."
"FMM welcomes the prime minister's keynote address, which captures the spirit of inclusive development and justice for the workforce.
"His bold assertion that when there are so many facilities for the rich, it should not be impossible to find land to build decent homes for workers reflects an urgent national priority that deserves broad support," Soh said.
He praised the government's efforts to strengthen the labour ecosystem, including the reduction of the national unemployment rate to 3.1 per cent, the increase in female labour force participation to 56.2 per cent, and the launch of initiatives such as the Madani Employee Card and the MyFutureJobs mobile application.
He said the MyFutureJobs platform, driven by artificial intelligence to match workers with jobs, would support Malaysia's digital labour market transformation.
"FMM expresses its readiness to support the utilisation and continuous improvement of the MyFutureJobs system through industry collaboration, ensuring it remains responsive to real-time market demand, skills matching, and sectoral workforce planning.
Soh said this year's Labour Day celebration reaffirmed the nation's respect for its workers and the need for collaborative efforts to build a just and future-ready labour ecosystem.

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