DENGKIL, MALAYSIA - THE number of workers temporarily laid off has risen from 45,000 before the Chinese New Year holidays to 80,000. Those being retrenched has risen to 19,000 from 15,000.

Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said the temporary lay-offs meant that the employees still had their jobs as the company had not ceased operations completely but they would receive less pay or none at all.

'The affected workers are from various sectors. The electrical, electronics and textile manufacturing are most badly hit,' he told reporters after launching the Empowering Women Project here yesterday.

'The Government is trying to help those affected by offering them training in new fields. They can also choose to take up short business courses that will allow them to become self-employed.'

Dr Subramaniam said there are 19,000 vacancies for those who had been retrenched. The ministry would start a nationwide matchmaking job campaign soon.

On the freeze on foreign workers, he said, it only affected companies in the electrical, electronics and textile manufacturing sectors.

'There is no sense in imposing such a freeze in the other sectors since they are not affected and are still running as before,' he said.

On another matter, Dr Subramaniam said the Government was saddened by the lukewarm response towards efforts to help those without birth certificates or identity cards.

He said the Home Ministry had opened the National Registration Department offices even on Saturdays to allow some 30,000 who are still without such documents but only about 2,000 had come forward.

-The Star/Asia News Network