Fix the foreign workers' conundrum

By ZAIDI ISHAM ISMAIL

DURING its heyday, Malaysia was seen as a job haven among foreign workers. The immigrants, both legal and illegal came to the country in droves seeking greener pastures.

Foreigners from Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nepal and so many other nationalities slogged to do backbreaking work which locals refused to do. These jobs were categorised as the 3D jobs - dirty, difficult and dangerous.

But now, the COVID-19 situation has changed the empoyment landscape in the nation. More and more Malaysians are losing their jobs due to the lockdown and the people are hard pressed for work.

The Malaysian Institute of Economic Research said  2.4 million Malaysians or 15% of the national workforce have already lost their jobs due to the pandemic.

Due to COVID-19, some small and medium scale enterprises have closed shop and cannot afford to hire foreign workers anymore both legal and illegal.

The enhanced movement control order has also shackled the illegal foreign workers at other locations such as at the Selayang wholesale market which caused them to lose their jobs.

Recovery

Now that the country enters into the recovery movement control order, foreigners, both documented and undocumented will now jostle with Malaysians for the very same jobs that locals are eyeing.

There is an estimated seven million foreign workers in this country, of which only two million are legals while the rest are undocumented.

Universiti Malaysia Perlis Associate Professor Dr Mizan Mohammad Aslam reportedly said the movement control order was the best time for the authorities to nab the illegal immigrants as they are mostly confined behind barbed wires.

Now that the country has entered into the recovery movement control order, the authorities must step up efforts to nab the illegal immigrants.

The government must look at how locals can fill up job positions previously occupied by the foreigners. Now is also the best time to send illegals back as the airplane ticket costs are competitive.

Similarly, the government should also consider doing away with the current MyKad identification card whose security features might have been compromised.

The National Registration Department must devise a more sophisticated MyKad 2.0 with more advanced security features.This is amid reports that the current MyKad has been compromised and thousands of it are in the hands of foreigners.

The government must do something about the illegals as it is not right to priotise them over Malaysians. Some foreign workers cause social ills and break the terms of their permits to set up their own businesses.

Burdened

During the lockdown, the government was burdened to feed and clothe immigrants sequestered at the immigration detention centres. While at the same time, many Malaysians are struggling to put food on the table to feed their families.

Some Rohingya refugees also ruffled the feathers of Malaysians when the former demanded equal rights and citizenship. Unless nipped in the bud, this friction between locals and the immigrants can flare up and disrupt the sensitive social fabric in this country.

The foreign workers have already dented our economy as an estimated RM30 billion in remittances are sent back by the workers back to their respective home countries.

Malaysians are being retrenched every month as we speak and the unemployment rate in the country is at around 5 percent or some 900,000.

The government must prioritise locals over foreigners to fill up domestic jobs and not employ foreigners. The undocumented foreign workers scourge has plagued the country for a long time. We can't afford to have illegal immigrants roaming about posing a national security threat to the nation.

It is time for the authorities to grab the bull by its horns and snuff this conundrum once and for all. - DagangNews.com

The writer is former NST Business assistant editor