It has shown how our government view on the current view of foreign labours. Within a week, the stand is somehow change 180 degree.
Fisrtly on Sunday, 20 Jan 2008, goverment plan to slashed as much as 10% of the total foreign labours in this country. We have 2.6 million legal foreign labours in Malaysia and reducing 10% of the total foreign labours is approximate 260,000.
At the same time, government admits that this move is to reduce the dependency of foreign labours and to increase the paid of locals. I have another post of which i wrote of too much of foreign labours.
However, today...what a twist. Seven hundred to 1000 Bangladeshi workers are still arriving in Malaysia daily because their work permits were issued before the Government freeze last October. Bangladesh High Commissioner M. Khairuzzaman, who revealed the figures at a press conference Friday, said the Malaysian Government's move was meant to stabilise the situation involving Bangladeshi workers here.
It is so obvious that our government still want more unskilled foreign labours to "develop" our beloved Malaysia. Till now, goverment still not realize how wrong they are to import so many of foreign labours until they (foreign labours) have overtook Indian as the 3rd largest gropu on Malaysia.
If we not start to transform to a more value added industry which rely on skilled and knowledge workers, we will lagging behind Vietnam in a short time and not to mention catching up Singapore. No wonder we are exporting our professionals to Singapore, China, Australia and others developed countries and replaced by Indonesian, Nepalese, Bangladeshi to our country!
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Too much of foreigners
When you pass by Jalan Silang,Jan Tun Siew Sin or Kota Raya in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, you may think you are another world. It is like a small United Nation with foreign labours from Bangladesh, Nepal, Vietnam, Myanmar, India gathering with their hometown friends. In another location in KL, you may notice that Indonesian that passing by are not less than Malaysian. This scenario is a norm for many people in KL.
On the last day of 2007, NST, The Star and The Sun, 3 major English dailies have each published one news related to foreign labours.
1.Foreigners took up 20% of the new job opportunity that is created in Malaysia on 2007, according to the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER). MIER executive director Prof Dr Mohamed Ariff Abdul Kareem told Mingguan Malaysia that it was a worrying scenario, especially in the labour sector.
2.Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Bakar has called to halt the intake of foreign workers. He added that there were some 2.6 million foreign workers in the country.
3. The Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) has called on the Human Resources Ministry to immediately stop issuing permits to labour suppliers.
Three of the news has concluded, too much of foreign workers in our country and it has brought more problems to our country.
It is a shame that only now the government has realised there is too much of foreign workers in Malaysia. We have over 2.6 millions foreigners and I supposed this amount is exclude those illegal workers. A very conservative estimation, there should be around 3.2 to 3.5 million foreigners in Malaysia. It is over 10% of our population and is overtaken Indian as the third largest groups.
If we analysed closely, the industries that needed a lot of foreigners is construction, plantation and manufacturing. Besides,wherever the working opportunity exist, the more foreign workers exists. Thus, you will not surprise if 20% of population in KL is foreigners. Most of them are Indonesian. Notice that the bus driver in Metro Bus is Indonesian? Going Petaling street or Chinatown, do you see the foreigners that doing business there is just as much as Chinese?
Government should be blamed on this due to lack of planning and vision.
Bringing these 2.6 million foreigner, unskilled foreigners will not move Malaysia forward or at least the direction as a developed country.
1. Foreigners is why our country salary is low all these years. The competition from foreigners has lower down the salary and took up many unskilled local people job opportunity. These foreigners has no long term commitment and that is the reason why they can accept lower salary. And the employer is the sole winner. They pay lower salary and no EPF and get higher profits from it.
2. Crime rates has been increased since more and more foreigners. Although there is statistics said only 20% of crime rates is by foreigners but bear in mind, their population is less than that.
3. These foreigners are not going trough medical check up thoroughly. They may bring illness from their country and spread to local people. Check it out at Hospital Kuala Lumpur you will see how many foreigners there.
Once a Singapore minister said" We top up the the summit of pyramid with foreigners and our neighbours top up the bottom of pyramid with foreigners".
It is our own fault by not changing our economic structure and rely on these cheap labours. We have missed the chance to transform to high tech industry and labour intensive industry has been move to China or Vietnam. Whereas Singapore is still strong as they know they are moving the value added industry.
How we are going to do with the extra foreigners? I don't know, but I know many Indonesian have become Malaysian. It is easy to 'invite' them, it is hard to kick them back.
On the last day of 2007, NST, The Star and The Sun, 3 major English dailies have each published one news related to foreign labours.
1.Foreigners took up 20% of the new job opportunity that is created in Malaysia on 2007, according to the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER). MIER executive director Prof Dr Mohamed Ariff Abdul Kareem told Mingguan Malaysia that it was a worrying scenario, especially in the labour sector.
2.Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Bakar has called to halt the intake of foreign workers. He added that there were some 2.6 million foreign workers in the country.
3. The Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) has called on the Human Resources Ministry to immediately stop issuing permits to labour suppliers.
Three of the news has concluded, too much of foreign workers in our country and it has brought more problems to our country.
It is a shame that only now the government has realised there is too much of foreign workers in Malaysia. We have over 2.6 millions foreigners and I supposed this amount is exclude those illegal workers. A very conservative estimation, there should be around 3.2 to 3.5 million foreigners in Malaysia. It is over 10% of our population and is overtaken Indian as the third largest groups.
If we analysed closely, the industries that needed a lot of foreigners is construction, plantation and manufacturing. Besides,wherever the working opportunity exist, the more foreign workers exists. Thus, you will not surprise if 20% of population in KL is foreigners. Most of them are Indonesian. Notice that the bus driver in Metro Bus is Indonesian? Going Petaling street or Chinatown, do you see the foreigners that doing business there is just as much as Chinese?
Government should be blamed on this due to lack of planning and vision.
Bringing these 2.6 million foreigner, unskilled foreigners will not move Malaysia forward or at least the direction as a developed country.
1. Foreigners is why our country salary is low all these years. The competition from foreigners has lower down the salary and took up many unskilled local people job opportunity. These foreigners has no long term commitment and that is the reason why they can accept lower salary. And the employer is the sole winner. They pay lower salary and no EPF and get higher profits from it.
2. Crime rates has been increased since more and more foreigners. Although there is statistics said only 20% of crime rates is by foreigners but bear in mind, their population is less than that.
3. These foreigners are not going trough medical check up thoroughly. They may bring illness from their country and spread to local people. Check it out at Hospital Kuala Lumpur you will see how many foreigners there.
Once a Singapore minister said" We top up the the summit of pyramid with foreigners and our neighbours top up the bottom of pyramid with foreigners".
It is our own fault by not changing our economic structure and rely on these cheap labours. We have missed the chance to transform to high tech industry and labour intensive industry has been move to China or Vietnam. Whereas Singapore is still strong as they know they are moving the value added industry.
How we are going to do with the extra foreigners? I don't know, but I know many Indonesian have become Malaysian. It is easy to 'invite' them, it is hard to kick them back.
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