31 January 2008
The cycle of blaming foreign workers for its woes has begun in Malaysia
malay-getout The Malaysian government's recent decision to send home at least 200,000 foreign workers by 2009 and to push more out of the country by 2015 hints at the deep divisions that the migrants, legal and illegal alike, have stirred in their host country.
As with most countries, when hard times start to appear – and Malaysia's economy is starting to turn down – migrants get the blame for rising crime, stealing jobs from the locals, cultural pollution, overloading school systems, not carrying their share of the tax burden and even spreading HIV, almost none of which is true. Nonetheless, the government of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi feels it has no choice but to put a stop to the influx in an effort to solve many of the country's problems, which analysts say isn't going to do much good, and in fact could do considerable harm.
"The immediate effect (of the expulsions) is that the labor supply will be significantly depleted, upsetting local as well as multinational employers relying on migrant workers," says Tricia Yeoh, Senior Research Analyst at the Centre for Public Policy Studies. "There will be a time-lag while waiting for local Malaysians to fill in the menial labor gaps."
The question is whether Malaysia will ultimately back away from the plan. The government periodically decides to expel overseas workers, as it did in 1994, when it forced about 380,000 out of the country with threats of imprisonment and caning, only to beg them to come back later to fill jobs Malaysians wouldn't take. Some analysts believe the government is raising the subject for political advantage in advance of a possible election and that it will die off when the election is over.
Nonetheless, government officials say a whopping 2.3 million registered foreign workers are trying to make a living in this thriving Southeast Asian nation of 26 million people, although most observers believe the total, including illegal migrant workers, is much higher. Much like in the rest of the world where development depends on inexpensive labor, Malaysia, richer than most of its neighbors, has become irresistible for poor workers from the wider region.
They hail from across Asia – Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Pakistan, Burma, Nepal and Bangladesh. Most are unskilled and indentured to the recruitment agencies responsible for importing them, taking jobs as everything from waiters and janitors to hotel clerks and security guards. Even the personnel at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport are imported, much to the irritation of the government, which says it would like tourists to see a "Malaysian" face when they arrive in the country. Some are also prostitutes. Earlier this week, 34 women were picked up from a Kuala Lumpur budget hotel after being found in a secret compartment.
Prostitutes or not, migrants face widespread abuse from the Royal Malaysian Police, immigration officials and volunteer quasi-vigilante groups known by he acronym RELA, which translates to "people's voluntary corps." In 2006, RELA forces set upon 60 Indian nationals protesting the fact that their employers hadn't paid them for two months in front of the Indian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, kicking and beating them, some so badly that bones were broken.
More than 1,000 migrants arrive daily at the international airport in and many are forced to sleep in a car park, sometimes for days, while they await processing by their new employers. Tens of thousands more arrive annually by boat, illegally across the Strait of Malacca or from Kalimantan into Sabah and Sarawak, large numbers of them working the country's rubber and oil palm plantations.
The plight of the workers is the rarely-seen underbelly of Malaysia's economic success. Immigrant labor by and large built the skyscrapers that clutter the Kuala Lumpur skyline, as Malaysians have begun to shun hard labor, preferring instead to work in modern office surroundings with better pay.
Recent events are straining the economy and that limit the use of migrant labor. With the slowing of the US economy, the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research has revised Malaysia's economic growth down to 5.1 percent in 2008 from 6.1 percent in 2007. The institute's director, Mohammad Arif, says growth could fall to as low as 4 percent if the U.S. falls into a full-blown recession.
"Our economy in 2008 may not be performing as well as it did in 2007, although authorities are putting on a brave face, but we think we should brace ourselves for a slowdown," he says. The institute also put the rate of inflation at 3.2 percent in 2008 due to an anticipated oil price hike if heavy oil and gas subsidies that cost the Malaysian government approximately US$10 billion (35 billion ringgit) annually are eased. The government had earlier promised no further price hikes for oil and gas.
The lackluster economic indicators have put the ruling Barisan Nasional on alert for voter fallout ahead of national elections that may be held as early as March to head off any backlash from discontent over the cost of living and inflation. An independent local non-governmental organization, the Merdeka Centre for Opinion Research, recently published a poll showing Abdullah Badawi's popularity at an all-time low of 61 percent.
Thus, the government is bracing for harder times and not taking any chances. Jobs that were once considered unworthy of Malaysians may now be attractive again – or maybe not. In western countries, recent experience is that menial jobs go begging even while people look for work.
In the service sector the government is seeking to implement measures to compel employers to hire Malaysians. In another move, a ban is to be imposed on hiring foreign workers for front-line positions at hotels and the airport.
That measure may not go down well. One business owner told Asia Sentinel that "I would rather hire foreign workers, as they are more committed and hardworking. The locals will just up and leave when they have better offers. I have to deal with a lot of attitude at work with Malaysians."
The issue of migrant workers has also soured relations between Indonesia and Malaysia. Some 60 percent of migrant workers are from Indonesia but the alleged mistreatment of Indonesia's Pahlawan De Visa, or foreign exchange heroes, who remit some 4.85 billion ringgit (US$1.5 billion) every year to Indonesia, is a sore point in Jakarta.
Relations with India have also turned sour, culminating in a squabble resulting in a reduction of the number of Indian workers sent to Malaysia after the Indian government raised issues behind closed doors about the treatment of Malaysia's ethnic Indians, who make up about 7 percent of the population. Recently the Hindu Rights Action Force, which claims to represent economically disadvantaged ethnic Indians, led street protests following which some of the organization's leaders were detained without trial under the Internal Security Act.
The rise of violent crime is another factor that dogs the migrant issue. Abdullah Badawi himself was stunned by a 45 percent rise in the National Crime Index since the time he took office. The Chinese community, which regards itself as the biggest victim because of its relative wealth, is most vocal. Immigrant workers, particularly Indonesian construction workers, have been blamed, contrary to a Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity hearing which concluded that 80 percent of crimes in the country are committed "by our own people." Frustrated by the decline in public safety, fingers are pointed at the migrant workers, so whether they deserve it or not, they take the brunt of the disapproval.
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Comments (14)add
Poor work attitude : seniorcitizen
Having more policemen and police stations does not mean better safety/security. If our policemen can do what they are supposed to do, we will be too happy with them. Unfortunately, their poor work attitude, poor professionalism and politiking, corruption and incompetence cannot make up for their increased numbers riding in more police cars. On top of all this, it appears that Chinese mafia chiefs are controlling the police from the top. My own confidence in the capability of the government of Malaysia to govern the country has never been more down. The government knows the cancer is there but there is no will to remove it.
February 3, 2008
Foreigners are human too : Anti-Racist Coalition
This is the typical scenarios in the M'sian employment scene:
.in the relatively menial & low-skilled sector, there are really very little choices available. You can hardly get any local Chinese as receptionist, sales clerk, waiter, tea-lady etc unless yours is a reasonably big/reputable corporation. The dynamics within the Chinese community are that the bright ones usually end up as senior managers in MNCs/listed companies/self-employed entrepreneurs/traders. The less educated turn up as hawkers, mechanics, builders & blue-collar workers. The exceptionally brilliant ones would have migrated to US, Australia, S'pore, China, Hong Kong seeking their fortunes in US dollars rather than the ever depreciating Ringgits. Most are being actively encouraged if not outright abetted by their parents to escape from the ratchet/harsh & demeaning racism at home.
.most Malays ended up as civil servants in the iron rice-bowl comfort of govt service. The govt practises naked/blatant racism in this respect resulting in almost 98% of all civil servants are Malays. Even if one possesses the patriotic/unselfish urge to want to serve one's motherland, a non-Malay will be so put off by the over domination of the Malays, with their utter "Talibanisation" of work ethic/culture & the inherent Malayness (laziness, taking of bribes, favouritism, laxness, no respect for professionalism etc), let alone the deliberately lack of promotional prospects (by govt decree), that it becomes foolhardy to want to waste one's precious time.
.if one employs a Chinese, he/she will surely not remain long because he/she usually jumps ship after a short spell. He/she quickly learns all the trade secrets, becomes his/her own boss grabbing all your business contacts or being snatched by a higher bidder taking your business along all the same. If he/she is a Malay, the usual "Malayness" problem manifests itself in so many ways : frequent undeclared absentism (leaves or otherwise), unsavy look (wearing the head culf & their traditional dresses (deemed unsuitable in certain front-desk positions), inability to speak/comprehend English & other languages other than their own tongue (again a victim of misguided, ultra-nationalistic educational policy) , lack of relative productivity (in comparison with other races) with their entitled extra time off during work time allegedly to perform their prayers, extra cost involved to provide prayer room & most of all the utter erosion of work efficiency during their fasting month of Ramadhan wherein they are not supposed to eat or drink during work hours etc.....
.foreign workers at least provide dependable, uninterrupted, hardworking, conscientious, no-nonsense work forces to run one's business which is so vital to retaining one's customers.
The examples above are merely a few samples I can quote due to limited space available. These are structural deficiencies & they will invariably, slowly but surely "eat" away at the competitiveness of the M'sian economy with relation to its neighbours. These problems will not deminish but will instead snow-ball as the demograghic changes ( Chinese are emigrating in droves, Indians are marginalised while Malays reproduces at an alarming rate coupled with a deliberate govt policy to encourage immigration from Malay-stock neighbours to overwhelm the non-Malays) more apparent in time to come. So, it is really not wrong to state categorically that Malaysia is truly a basket case of opportunity (to become great nation) squanderred (in historic proportion).
Good luck to all these UMNO/Malay racists in building a monolithic nation of mediocres. YOU will get a Greater Malay nation but it will be deprived of talents from the Chinese, Indians & other minority races.
February 2, 2008
... : Liang1a
YHong wrote:
Malaysia should have a policy of accepting skilled migrants with a tertiary education to increase its skill resources and know-how. Instead, it takes in millions of unskilled migrants that do not add much value to its gross domestic income.
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Malaysia certainly should implement policies to encourage the immigration of skilled professionals. But if Malaysia simply restored full equality and allowed the Chinese equal rights to do business, then that in itself will keep all the skilled professionals Malaysia needs. But if Malaysia discriminates and marginlizes the Chinese professionals already in Malaysia, how could it motivate non-Malaysian Chinese professionals to immigrate to Malaysia?
As to the non-skilled foreign workers, it is wrong to say that they contribute nothing to Malaysia's economy. In fact they contribute quite a lot. Just about all of Malaysia's plantations are worked by foreign workers. And if they were deported then 90% or more of the Malaysian plantations will be shut down for lack of workers. That will seriously impact Malaysia's economy adversely. Similarly with the construction industry. Malaysia simply cannot do without foreign workers. And they do add significantly to Malaysia's GDP.
Of course, menial labors should be automated. But it is much easier to build a robot to pick tomatoes and lettuces on flat American farmland then to harvest oil palm fruits on hilly Malaysian land. So until some effective robots can be invented, foreign workers should be allowed to work on the plantations and the construction industry for the benefit of Malaysia and Malaysians.
February 2, 2008
the malaysian dilemma : Adnan Mous
as a fellow bumiputra and a malaysian, i feel obligated to state that not all of us here are so ignorant as to believe that our social ills are down to the same people we so eagerly accepted to toil on our roads and building sites, indeed carry out those tasks that we ourselves deemed below us...we took them in with open arms ..treated them with disdain, rarely providing them with even adequate shelter and basic amenities while we lorded over them and generally considered them as chattel.it is not surprising that some took it upon themselves to help redsitribute the wealth by scrrilous means. Yet how can we as a nation blame the "foreigners" for our crime sprees when the greatest crimes are being commited by our brightest and richest go unpunished.[with respect to the alleged farce that is our judiciary]. Worrying still, with such a pedestrian following at its beck and call, how long before mischief makers within our malay community begin to harvest their seeds of misinformation and mistrust and begin to widen our net and define foreigners to include our indian and chinese brethren....or have i completely missed the boat
February 2, 2008
... : RL
Elections fever... all the pandering to the less educated fellas...
can you hear that sound? dum dam dum dam.. that's the sound of xenophobes dancing to the beats in the jingotecque.
February 1, 2008
... : Timur Salak
The most probable cause of major unmanaged migrant labor is primarily due to employers illicitly bringing in very cheap paid workers. In addition to bad governance on the part of labor agency companies and government authorities corruption is implicit.
Considering government non-accountability, the problem will not only deprive Malaysians of employment, continued inhumane treatment of genuine migrant labor will persist and the countries mounting social problems in will persist.
February 1, 2008
Malaysia. : YHong
For the last 20 years, Malaysia has relied on too many cheap migrant workers to do all the low paid work. This work should have been moved to countries which has a large population of cheap labour, such as Indonesia, the Philippines and India. This low paid labour has prevented Malaysia from maturing from a developing country to a developed, modern country. After 50 years of independence, most Malaysians, as a minimum, is expected to be tertiary educated and working in highly paid jobs in R&T, Finance, IT, Trading, High Tech and other service industries in the country. Instead, a large percentage of its scarce human pool (its younger citizens) have dropped out from school following Form 5. This has lead to a continually under-educated society which cannot lead the country in its quest for a higher per capita income.
Malaysia should have a policy of accepting skilled migrants with a tertiary education to increase its skill resources and know-how. Instead, it takes in millions of unskilled migrants that do not add much value to its gross domestic income. Malaysia's political elite still does not acknowledge that there has been a massive brain-drain in the last 20 years, losing millions of Malaysian borned professionals to countries like Australia, Canada, the USA and other developed countries. Vision 2020 will attempt to lift the per capital income to that of Switzerland's per capital income of 1975 (approximately US$12.000) but by 2020 Switzerland per capital income will have quadrupled to US$48,000.
Malaysia has to allow the market to set higher wages which will, in turn, lead to automation of menial tasks and higher wages which will attract more Malaysians to work in areas that they currently shy away from. Market forces should move the highly labour-intensive industries to countries with cheap labour. The automation of menial task will reduce the need for so many low skilled migrant workers. The government has to increase efficiency in its public service delivery, privatise or public-list the government linked corporations (GICs), automate its highway toll and tax collection, all of which would release the excess public servants to the desperately labour-hungry private sectors.
With acceptable wages and more skilled jobs in the country, Malaysians currently working overseas legally or illegally could attain the motivation to return to their home country to contribute their share in making Vision 2020 and beyond a reality.
February 1, 2008
Same Song; Same Tune...!!! : Agadam Magadam
The Govt insists every organisation must employ Bumis..
These guys, once employed, become a burden to their employers.. They want it easy (laziness) and complaint to the authorities who then threaten the employers... It's very common here.. The foreigners are very hardworking, and on top of that many are ill treated.. We NEED them, they built this country since the late '60's.. Many who came illegally have settled down well here and even educated their children here..- I think they deserved it, as they slogged hard for it...THE GOVT is now afraid of their numbers here.. 2 Million and probably much, much more... These are the very people who will overthrow the Bumi ruled Govt some day soon... Some are even Ministers and others hold top posts in the Govt service.. Barisan and UMNO will be attacked from within....
The Chinese, who control the economy are already fed up with the ruling party.. Corruption is a norm in the Govt service.. They are so bold now as to demand openly for their'gifts' or 'ang pows' each time a "favour" is done..
Examples of 'favours'- too many to mention... Approval letters,getting a criminal released, land office matters, licence approvals and everything else related to Govt Depts.. The present Govt is in "PANIC" mode now, as the Elections near... The local media is full of false news, controlled and approved by the ruling Party.. That's why I chose to subscribe to many foreign media who report actual happenings- That's called News....
February 1, 2008
Bodowi Gov a total joke : Boon
Since Bodowi took over from TDM we've had nothing but failer. In crime there there is reported an average of a rape a day, unsolved cases of child kidnapping rape and killings. What are the police doing road blocks or tolls to collect coffee money. The basic feeling of safety is not even upheld, how can anyone in their right mind vote BN.
February 1, 2008
... : Kartini Bos-Jamel
People do not realise how ridiculously shallow they sound when they blame the foreign workers (thus the underdog) for all our woes in Malaysia. Our economy and quality of life will deteriorate without these foreigners. WHY push away the people we need the most? I also don't understand why these people are treated like dogs when they are doing us a huge favour - taking the jobs that we Malaysians have become too "sombong"for. The government's decision is a short-sighted one. Nevermind...let's just commit economic/social suicide!
February 1, 2008
Deport the Unpatriots! : Adoi Hitler : http://adoi-means-ouch.blogspot.com/2007/12/illegal-immigrant.html
An unpatriot is one whose ruthless ambition, avarice and arrogance brings financial ruin and ignominy to the nation.
Apart from a handful of desperadoes who break into houses or molest local women, the majority of foreign workers are mainly here to earn a living and support their families back home. They deserve our appreciation and a far greater measure of decent treatment. It is the incumbent political leadership - particularly the ones in Umno - who are the unpatriots. They aggrandize themselves at the expense of everybody else and brazenly steal from the public coffers.
And because they have corrupted the police, the judiciary, and completely own the mass media, they have thus far got away with even murder! Let's not scapegoat the migrant workers who are helping sustain the Malaysian economy with their blood, sweat and tears. Instead, let's deport the Umno ministers and their ilk for their larcenous and treacherous misbehavior. But where shall we quarantine these virulent specimens of subhumanity without doing the rest of creation a grievous disfavor? How about the Van Allen Radiation Belt?
February 1, 2008
... : Liang1a
It is pure stupidity to deport the migrant workers. As the article pointed out, Malaysian plantations and construction industries need foreign cheap workers. If the migrants were kicked out, then there will be nobody to do the work. Malaysians just don't want to work so hard on plantations anymore. Therefore, if Malaysia kicked out the migrant workers, it will only be shooting itself in the foot. The plantations cannot harvest its crops and buildings will not get built. The government will suffer a serious decline in revenue collection and many projects will not be funded. In the end, if the agricultural and construction industries suffered serious labor shortages, then it will adversely impact Malaysia's economy and make the Malaysian people worse off.
February 1, 2008
... : MalaysianNextDoor
"migrants get the blame for rising crime, stealing jobs from the locals, cultural pollution, overloading school systems, not carrying their share of the tax burden and even spreading HIV, almost none of which is true" ..... that is writing without research or anything, one thing is certain, my workers are indon and they school-ed their kids in Goverment school, last time i visit KLCC, its full with migrants and last month, my friend house's being broken by indonesians.
January 31, 2008
... : mohd nor
malaysia have to many unskilled foreign worker and it cause malaysia to have many social problem.
January 31, 2008
