By Hazlin Hassan, The Straits Times
MALAYSIA'S plan to reduce the number of foreign workers by 200,000 could cause a severe shortage of blue-collar workers but employers will likely fill the gap quickly by using illegal migrant workers, industry players say.
They lamented that while they would like to employ Malaysians in jobs such as office cleaners, restaurant cooks and barbers, there are often few takers among choosy local workers.
Locals who joined the so-called '3D' jobs - difficult, dirty and dangerous - tend to quit after just a few months.
They were responding to the government's plan to cut the number of foreign workers by at least 200,000 by next year, to open up more jobs for locals.
Home Affairs Ministry secretary-general Raja Azahar Raja Abdul Manap said last week that the government will apply stricter standards for hiring foreign labour.
But it will not touch the plantation, manufacturing and construction sectors - three key economic sectors that employ the most number of foreign labour.
'Some of our local employees are not prepared to accept menial jobs. They don't want to be kitchen assistants and waiters in the hotels. That is a problem. In desperate situations, some employers may engage illegal foreign workers to get the business going.'
MR M. VIVEKANANDAN, Malaysian Employers Federation general manager of industrial relations
There are 2.3 million foreign workers in Malaysia, who add to the 11 million-strong local workforce. The foreigners include some 500,000 illegal migrant workers.
The government wants to reduce the number of foreign workers to 1.8 million next year, and by another 300,000 to 1.5 million by 2015.
Mr M. Vivekanandan, Malaysian Employers Federation general manager of industrial relations, said: 'Some of our local employees are not prepared to accept menial jobs. They don't want to be kitchen assistants and waiters in hotels. That is a problem.
'In desperate situations, some employers may engage illegal foreign workers to get the business going,' he told The Straits Times yesterday.
Datuk R. Ramalingam Pillai, president of the Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners' Association, said the move will cause problems for thousands of Indian restaurants.
'Local youths think that working in restaurants is demeaning,' he said.
A third of the 95,000 workers of such restaurants are foreigners, mostly from India and Indonesia. Monthly wages range between RM800 (S$350) and RM2,500, he said.
'We will have problems in the future, but we will appeal to the government when there is a problem,' he told The Straits Times.
But industry players are optimistic that the crackdown on foreign workers is a temporary move.
Malaysia periodically sends home foreign workers to open up space for local employees, or after complaints about rising crime rates.
These moves were then followed by rules being relaxed after a few months because most Malaysians shun menial work.
But for now, there is a lot to worry about, especially for hoteliers.
The government two weeks ago announced that foreign workers will not be allowed to work as 'front-liners', although there are only a few of these people serving as receptionists or bellboys.
Figures from the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) show some 3.31 per cent of 40,000 people in the hotel industry are expatriate and foreign workers.
'It is not easy to get Malaysians to work in hotels on a continuous basis. Youth now are very choosy," said Mr Sarjit Singh, MAH executive director.
On the other hand, foreign workers often complained of being cheated of salaries by their Malaysian employers.
Said Mr Hashim Ahmad, who is in charge of security at the Etiqa Twins tower in Kuala Lumpur: 'Some companies look for an easy way out and mistreat the foreign workers and give them minimum pay,' he said.
His building hires foreigners for security and cleaning services.
Yet the debate is irrelevant to people like Indonesian construction worker Hekmat Amsara, who sends about RM200 a month to his family in East Java.
'Back home, it is difficult to get work, and the pay is not even enough to survive,' said the 45-year-old father of three.
He has worked in various construction sites in Malaysia over the past 26 years.
See also: Malaysia Today
