Foreign workers asked to take induction class

Malaysia has made it compulsory for all foreign workers to take a course to learn about Malaysia before coming to the country, a minister said yesterday.

Human Resources Minister S. Subramaniam said the induction course became mandatory this month to ensure workers know the country's customs, culture, language and laws before getting a work visa.

Indonesians are exempt from the language requirement because the two dialects spoken in the neighboring countries are similar, he said.