PETALING JAYA: The home ministry of Malaysia said only Nepalis are allowed to work as guards for registered security companies in the country, following news reports that Malaysia is turning to Pakistan for such manpower.
The ministry is also urging local security companies here to prioritize Malaysians when recruiting personnel.
“A total of 120,767 local security guards have undergone training. This represents 80% of the number of guards in the industry,” it said in a statement.
Pakistani media outlet The Nation recently reported that Malaysia would hire between 100,000 and 150,000 security guards from the Islamic republic.
Human Resources Minister M Kula Segaran had said he was in the dark over the matter and that it fell under the home ministry’s purview.
Kula also said it was up to the home ministry to decide on the matter.
The Nepali-only policy was enforced in 2006.
But in 2016, the previous government said security firms were allowed to hire guards from countries other than Nepal.
Then deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the policy change was due to a shortage of guards with a military background from Nepal.
(with inputs from Agencies)