PENANG: The Government should consider issuing smart cards to foreign workers to help weed out illegals and the forging of documents, said Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon.

He said the immigration department should consider implementing the latest Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) such as smart cards to improve the process of recruiting foreign workers. The smart card containing the foreign workers’ particulars and thumbprints will be difficult to erase,he said at the Penang Builders’ and Building Materials Dealers Association 125th anniversary dinner on Monday attended by 1,300 people.

Issuing smart cards to foreign workers may be expensive but it will be more convenient and beneficial in the long run,he said.

Dr Koh also pledged his support to the association’s appeal to the relevant authorities to expedite the recruitment process of foreign workers for the construction sector. We cannot allow the construction sector to die,” he said, adding that he also supported the association’s appeal to exempt or reduce the RM1,300 levy on foreign workers.