I REFER to your report, “Dons to forward proposals” (NST, Feb 24). The sustainable framework on foreign worker management proposed by the National Professors Council is timely.
I support the proposal that the government should identify the exact need for legal foreign labour,
and that every single one of them should be documented and accounted for.
It is regrettable that we often hear of conflicting reports on the number of legal and illegal immigrant workers in Malaysia. Some say two million, some say three million, while others say as many as five million to six million.
Government figures show that Malaysia has 2,135,035 foreign workers as at December 2015, with a further 1.7 million believed to be undocumented (NST, Feb 20). Yet, there is another report that states that there are 5.8 million foreigners. Which is it?
Even the Immigration Department is unsure of the exact number of illegal immigrant workers and believes that there are more working, moving freely all over the country, and enjoying facilities meant for locals, without fear of being arrested.
It was reported a few years ago that when a Malaysian entered Indonesia illegally, he was hunted, arrested, jailed and deported.
But the irony is that in Malaysia, millions, including Indonesians, enter the country illegally, but are not hunted, arrested and put in jail and deported, until the recent outcry for the government to flush out every worker who does not have proper documentation.
Why do Asians, and now Africans, Arabs and Latinos, choose to come here to work, legally or illegally, and to rob and cheat Malaysians? According to them, Malaysia is a fast-developing, peaceful and friendly country, a land of opportunities, and an easy place to get jobs and make money.
Some enforcement officers will accept bribes to close one eye.
Greed among Malaysians and employers to make quick money, and the need for foreign workers in Malaysia, has reached an unmanageable level.
It is easy, fast and economical for employers to employ illegal workers, but excessive dependence on them has taken a toll on the wellbeing of our people. The foreign workers crisis is real. It is a clear and present danger to our country.
I urge the government to repatriate them as they pose economic, health and security threats to the nation.
It was reported that not all employers want to legalise their foreign workers as it would cost more money to employ them. It may be a quick way to solve the overcrowding in Immigration depots, but I feel that legalising them would only encourage more to come as illegals.
The 13 depots are filled to the brim. There is a need to get rid of them fast, even if we have to use naval ships to send them home.
It costs millions of ringgit of public funds to feed them for a long time.
NOR SHAHID MOHD NOR,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor