Malaysia has moved all foreign worker quota applications to a fully online system and transferred full responsibility for the One-Stop Centre (OSC) for foreign worker recruitment to the Ministry of Human Resources (KESUMA), in a move aimed at improving transparency, governance and efficiency.

Human Resources Minister R. Ramanan announced on Monday that the changes took effect following Cabinet approval on July 1.

Under the new arrangement, all foreign worker quota applications must be submitted through the e-Quota module of the Foreign Worker Centralized Management System (FWCMS), which will serve as the government’s sole digital platform for processing and managing foreign worker recruitment.

Ramanan said the online system would eliminate the need for employers to queue physically to submit applications, making the process faster, simpler and more transparent.

He also said KESUMA now has full ownership of the platform’s source code and administrative control, enabling the ministry to manage and improve the system independently.

As part of the reforms, document verification will also be carried out entirely online, a step the minister said would reduce processing times, enhance transparency and curb the role of intermediaries and unauthorized agents.

Malaysia currently permits the recruitment of foreign workers from 12 of the 15 approved source countries—Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Pakistan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Laos.

Recruitment from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan remains inactive, Ramanan said.

According to the minister, 548 companies have submitted a combined 22,476 applications for foreign worker quotas to date.

He added that quota applications will no longer be assessed on an individual basis. Instead, each application will undergo a standardized evaluation involving the relevant regulatory agencies, consultations with stakeholders and review by the One-Stop Centre before a final decision is made.

The latest reforms are expected to strengthen oversight of Malaysia’s foreign worker recruitment system while ensuring labour-dependent industries continue to have access to the workforce they need through a more efficient and accountable process.