Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email Freight forwarders are unhappy with the current practice that requires applicants for forwarding agent licenses to provide the racial composition of their employees.
Urging the government to drop the requirement, the Airfreight Forwarders Association of Malaysia (AFAM) said agents also had to reveal the salary information of their employees according to race in the application forms.
In a memorandum to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti), AFAM pointed out that matters pertaining to salaries were confidential.
"This is definitely not conducive towards the creation of the new Malaysian race," it said.
As such, the association has requested the government to replace them with forms requesting agents to identify their employees as either Malaysian or non-Malaysian.
The association also wants the government to relax the bumiputera equity requirement on both local and foreign airfreight forwarding companies operating in Malaysia.
Under the current policy, new freight forwarders must have 51% bumiputera participation in terms of equity ownership as well as composition of its directors, senior managers and employees, unless exempted.
While Malaysian companies should be accorded forwarding licences without any conditions, foreign companies should only be subjected to have 30% bumiputera equity participation, AFAM said.
