PUTRAJAYA: The Human Resources Ministry has yet to receive any official notice from the Myanmar government prohibiting its citizens from working in Malaysia.

Its minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jaem said if the Myanmar government was still adamant to stop sending its workers to Malaysia, it won’t affect the country and any of its industries.

“There are currently about 100,000 Myanmar workers in Malaysia, mainly in the manufacturing sector.

“So far, we have yet to receive any official letter from our counterpart in Myanmar to ban their workers from coming to Malaysia.

“But if they really do not want to send their workers here, we cannot do much. We still have a lot of employees from other countries who want to work in Malaysia,” he told reporters after the National Occupational Safety and Health (NOSH) Excellence Award, here.

He was commenting on Myanmar’s move to impose a ban on its new workers and possible recall of existing workers from Malaysia.

The move came after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, during a rally on Sunday in Kuala Lumpur that drew thousands of people, lashed out at Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi for allowing the “genocide” of Rohingya to take place on her watch.

Meanwhile, the NOSH Excellence Award featured 20 categories recognising the industries’ effort in achieving a safe and healthy work culture.

The winners were selected through a rigorous screening and auditing process evaluated by trained and competent auditors from the Occupational Safety and Health Department (DOSH).

A total of 20 elements were assessed by the auditors during the audit process including occupational safety and health (OSH) management system, which is one of the most important aspect. The effectiveness of such a system in the workplace has been identified as the main factor in the success of the organisation, particularly in OSH aspect.