KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia's Human Resources Ministry says its upcoming artificial intelligence-powered recruitment platform will overhaul the country's foreign worker hiring process by reducing reliance on intermediaries and strengthening transparency.
The ministry said the Universal Recruitment Advanced Platform (Turap), approved by the Cabinet on April 15, is part of broader efforts to modernise migration management and improve governance in foreign worker recruitment, as reported by The Edge.
According to the ministry, the platform will replace the traditional multi-layered recruitment model with an AI-powered matching system, allowing Malaysian employers to recruit workers directly from source countries.
“Through this transformation, the traditional recruitment process, which previously involved multiple layers of agents, will be replaced with an AI matching system, enabling employers in Malaysia to recruit workers directly from source countries,” the ministry said in a written parliamentary reply published on the Parliament website. (date wasn't mentioned)
The ministry said the new approach is intended to address longstanding issues such as forced labour and human trafficking while improving protection for migrant workers.
Kesuma was responding to Senator Datuk Koh Nai Kwong, who sought assurances that Turap would operate transparently and avoid the shortcomings of previous recruitment systems.
To safeguard the platform from external interference, the ministry said Turap will incorporate four key governance mechanisms.
These include an explainable AI algorithm that allows recruitment decisions to be audited, integrity oversight involving the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and CyberSecurity Malaysia, and immutable ledger technology to create a secure digital audit trail.
The platform will also process payments through official fee structures to eliminate hidden charges, while applying the Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) principle, under which final policy decisions will remain under the ministry's authority in line with international standards.
Kesuma said Turap represents a fundamental reform of Malaysia's foreign worker recruitment system rather than a simple software upgrade.
“Kesuma will not compromise with any party that attempts to manipulate or undermine the integrity of this new system,” the ministry said.
