Kuching: While the Sarawak Government’s announcement that it will engage stakeholders on concerns surrounding the Foreign Workers Transformation Approach (FWTA) fee mechanism is a welcome first step, but a clear timeline must first be set for such engagements, and more importantly, the revision of not just the fees charged, but the whole system instead.
If the government is genuinely committed to reviewing the fee structure and addressing the concerns raised by affected industries, then the very first step should have been to immediately suspend and freeze the implementation of the increased renewal fees that took effect on 1 June 2026.
Instead, businesses continue to be charged the higher renewal fees while the government conducts its stakeholder engagements.
This does not reflect sincerity on the part of the government to address the legitimate concerns raised by those affected. Rather, it creates the perception that businesses are expected to continue paying first while waiting indefinitely for a possible revision later.
One cannot claim that a policy is under review while simultaneously continuing to impose the very fees that are being disputed.
What makes the situation even more concerning is the scale of the increase.
Prior to 1 June 2026, businesses paid RM904 for each renewal. However, beginning 1 June 2026 until 31 December 2026, the renewal fee increased to RM1,483, representing an increase of RM579 or approximately 64 per cent.
The burden will become even heavier from 1 January 2027 onwards, when the renewal fee is scheduled to rise further to RM1,854, representing an increase of RM950 or approximately 105 per cent compared to the original renewal fee of RM904.
These are substantial increases that directly impact the cost of doing business in Sarawak. If the government genuinely intends to review the fee mechanism through stakeholder engagements, then these increases should never have been implemented in the first place. The fees should have remained frozen, and businesses should not be forced to bear significantly higher costs while negotiations are still ongoing.
More importantly, the central issue extends far beyond the fee mechanism itself.
The people of Sarawak deserve full transparency regarding the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreement that underpins the FWTA system.
To date, businesses have been compelled to comply with and pay into a system without full disclosure of the conditions of the agreement itself and the basis used to justify the fees that are imposed.
This is not merely a commercial matter. It is a matter of public interest.
Businesses and consumers ultimately bear the costs generated by this system. They therefore have every right to know whether this arrangement genuinely serves the interests of Sarawak or primarily benefits a private concessionaire that seems to be protected by the government.
The fundamental question remains unanswered: What value has this system delivered that justifies imposing millions of ringgit in additional costs on businesses across Sarawak?
At a time when businesses are already grappling with rising operational costs, inflationary pressures, global supply chain disruptions, and economic uncertainty arising from geopolitical conflicts, the government should be looking for ways to reduce the cost of doing business, not introduce additional layers of compliance costs and bureaucracy.
The issue is therefore not merely about the amount being charged. It is about whether the entire FWTA framework and its underlying PPP arrangement are necessary, justified, and beneficial to the people of Sarawak.
If the government cannot demonstrate through full transparency that this arrangement delivers clear and measurable benefits that outweigh the costs imposed on businesses and consumers, then the logical conclusion is that the system has failed its purpose.
In that case, the government must be prepared to take the necessary step of scrapping the FWTA system altogether, and only if needed, replacing it with a more transparent, accountable, efficient, and cost-effective alternative.
Any regulatory or digitalisation initiative should facilitate ease of business, safety, and traceability, and improve efficiency. It should not become a mechanism that extracts additional fees from businesses without delivering corresponding public benefits.
The Sarawak Government must now demonstrate that this engagement exercise is more than a public relations exercise designed to buy time.
Freeze all renewal fee increases immediately. Reveal the full Public-Private Partnership agreement. Allow public scrutiny of the costs and benefits of the system.
If the arrangement cannot be justified as being in the best interests of Sarawak and its people, then the FWTA system should be scrapped.
The people and businesses of Sarawak deserve transparency, accountability, and a government that puts public interest above private profit.
Dr. Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen
MP for Bandar Kuching
12 June 2026
