The Star – Saturday, 14 Mar 2026
IN mid-2023, then Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli announced the government’s plan to modernise the contract cleaning service industry to reduce dependency on low-skilled foreign workers in this sector.
Rafizi said contracts would be awarded based on performance instead of headcount (of workers involved), which would reduce dependency on migrant workers as operators may now be able to invest in better wages and cleaning equipment.
For the record, cleaning services for government offices, schools and hospitals in Malaysia have been extensively privatised since the 1990s as part of a national strategy to reduce the size of the civil service and cut costs.
The Malaysian Association of Cleaning Contractors (MACC) were excited and looking forward to the implementation of the new policy.
In fact, we had suggested this approach way back in 2017 as we strongly believed that, as service providers, our focus should be on the quality of service rather than the number of workers supplied.
After a series of discussions, workshops and seminars with various consultants appointed by Malaysian Productivity Corporation were held, the whole exercise went quiet.
It’s been three years since, and we have yet to see any contract being awarded on the performance-based system by the public sector.
This system provides leeway for contractors to use alternative approaches, such as mechanisation and training, to reduce the number of workers and upgrade the skills of employees at the same time.
Such approaches would raise the profile of the sector, making it more attractive for locals to join.
It is disheartening that the system seems to have been put on hold even as the government continues to harp on about reducing dependency on foreign workers.
But we are still hopeful that it will be implemented soon.
NORUDDIN IDRIS
President
Malaysian Association Cleaning Management (MACM)
