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Malaysia’s digital arm to provide working visa for DLT freelancers

Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) freelancers can work up to 12 months in the country

Malaysia

The government’s digital arm Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) announced that it has partnered with the Singapore blockchain-based non-profit organisation NEM Foundation and the Estonian cross-border job marketplace Jobbatical. The partnership will set up an up to 12-months work visa programme for tech and distributed ledger technology (DLT) talents, as reported by The Star Online.

Malaysia has seen a growing demand for blockchain technology talents, which prompted MDEC to launch mentioned programme.

MDEC’s collaborators, NEM Foundation, is a Singapore-based non-profit organization in charge of the NEM (XEM) blockchain project, and Jobbatical is an Estonian startup that connects tech professionals around the globe with firms in need of their services.

The roles of the collaborators will be NEM Foundation to specify the type of talents needed, and Jobbatical on scouting for them via its platform.

According to the vice president of MDEC growth ecosystem, Norhizam Abdul Kadir, proposals have already been sent to the country’s Immigration Department and the Home Ministry, to support the Digital Freelancer Programme and approve the selected talents.

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The program, Kadir said, will ride on the existing Professional Visit Pass, which enables foreign workers with the relevant professional qualification or skills to migrate to Malaysia to work as expatriates for up to 12 months. Besides working, the ones qualified can also undergo practical training with a local company on behalf of an overseas firm.

As of now, MDEC confirms that the programme will be focussed mainly on blockchain experts, even with the country’s interest in attracting talents with skills in new technologies such as AI and IoT.

“The number of Visas to be issued depends on the projects that will be run by DLT companies in Malaysia,“ said Kadir.

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