KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 6 — Bangladeshi citizens make up the largest percentage of foreign workers in Malaysia at about 898,970 people, said Human Resources Minister Steven Sim.

He said the presence of foreign workers in the country is under control as it remains below the ceiling set by the Government, which limits foreign workers to not exceeding 15 per cent of the total employed population in the country.

“Since 18 March 2023, the Government has decided to freeze the quota for the recruitment of new foreign workers until a date to be announced later.

“As of 31 December 2024, the total employed population was 16,779,500 individuals. Of that number, 2,368,422 individuals, or 14 per cent, were foreign workers,” he said in a written reply published on the Parliament website yesterday.

Sim was responding to Pasir Salak MP Jamaludin Yahya, who asked the ministry to state the percentage and total number of foreign workers in Malaysia, as well as the nationality with the highest percentage of foreign workers in the country.

Sim added that the top foreign workers in Malaysia are Indonesians at 582,108, followed by Nepali at 370,127.