Until recently, Sanjeet, a business consultant from India, thought of Malaysia as home.
After living and working in the Southeast Asian nation for more than a decade, he had become comfortable with the climate, people and way of life.
“Once I had crossed the five-year mark, Malaysia seemed like an ideal long-term choice,” Sanjeet, who is in his 40s and asked to use a pseudonym, told Al Jazeera.
“One gets used to what Malaysia has to offer.”
But after a recent move by the Malaysian government to reduce the country’s reliance on foreign workers, Sanjeet’s plans – and those of thousands like him – have been plunged into doubt.
From June onwards, the minimum salary threshold for foreign workers to obtain a visa will be raised by as much as twofold, and employers will be limited in how long they can sponsor the same visa-holder.
“What was surprising was that this came out of the blue,” Sanjeet said.
“It does leave room for doubt in terms of long-term plans, which include things like buying a house or car here.”
Malaysia, which transformed into one of Southeast Asia’s most developed economies after gaining independence from Britain in the 1960s, has been an attractive destination for foreign labour for decades.
Many of the 2.1 million documented foreign workers in the country take on manual labour for salaries of around the monthly minimum wage of 1,700 ringgit ($430).
A much smaller pool of foreign workers is employed in highly-paid specialised sectors such as finance, semiconductors, and oil and gas.
In 2024, Home Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution said the country’s high-salaried expatriate population – estimated at 140,000 people – pumped about 75 billion ringgit ($19bn) into the domestic economy and contributed approximately 100 million ringgit ($25m) in taxes each year.
[A couple enjoy the view of the skyline in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on September 18, 2024]
