FOREIGN WORKING FLOOD IN MALAYSIA.

The dilemma of having foreign workers in Malaysia.

No one can tell for sure how many migrant workers we actually have in Malaysia. Even the authorities and individual officials offer their own variable numbers, not so much because they have something to hide from the public but simply because no one knows exactly how many of them are here.

According to the Human Resources Ministry, there are some 2.1 million registered migrant workers - what we call legal foreign workers - in Malaysia. However, the number of overstaying illegal foreigners is even larger, probably around three million.

The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) estimate is even more alarming, putting the total number of legal and illegal foreign workers at six million.

Mr Low Kian Chuan, secretary- general of the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia, seems to echo MEF's hypothesis, arguing that the ratio of legal to illegal foreign workers in the country now stands at 1:2, meaning there are two illegal migrant workers for every legally registered worker here.

Given that we now have 2.1 million registered foreign workers, the number of undocumented ones could easily hit four million in a developing country of 31.7 million.

How serious could the social problems get?

Problems that come with these people include terror threats related to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria terror group , human trafficking and moral deprivation, among others. Unfortunately it is next to impossible for Malaysians to go without these people.

Many of our economic sectors are excessively dependent on foreign workers. When the government froze the import of new foreign workers, some local furniture factories had to wind up, owing to the labour crunch.

The raids carried out by the immigration department against unregistered foreign workers have left many construction sites short-handed and plantations virtually unattended to.

And the list goes on and on.

It has been stipulated under the 11th Malaysia Plan that the ratio of foreigners in the country's labor market must not exceed 15 per cent, or 2.1 million. But thanks to the presence of a multitude of illegal foreign workers, the ratio would have reached a jaw-dropping 43 per cent, far beyond what the labor market actually requires.

These foreign workers have hailed from neighboring countries like Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Nepal, hired mainly in the construction, manufacturing, agricultural and services sectors or as domestic help.

The influx of large numbers of foreigners into the country has seriously impacted the local demographic structure.

Malaysia is a land of plenty. Getting the stomach filled is never an issue, so long as one is willing to work.

Another pull factor is that Islam is the country's official religion and Muslims constitute the dominant community here, making the country a veritable paradise for people like Indonesians, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis and Burmese Rohingyas.

As if that is not enough, Malaysian employers' dependence on foreign workers has reached a stage that a total weaning from foreign labour is squarely impossible.

The reason is beyond question: Foreign workers are inexpensive, hard-working and will not resist 3D (dirty, dangerous and difficult) jobs which locals instantly shun.

To the employers, Malaysians will only take jobs in a comfortable working environment, with no exposure to harsh elements, stench, dust or overtime.

Many good-looking Bangladeshi men, in the meantime, marry local women and are subsequently granted resident status.

It is therefore easy to understand why the number of legal and illegal foreign workers just keeps going up.

We cannot deny the positive contributions of these workers to the country's economy, but the unpredictable government policies have made it very difficult for employers to map out their long-term hiring policies.

This, coupled with lax enforcement and the absence of an effective mechanism to manage migrant workers, has resulted in millions of foreigners outstaying their employment contracts.

To better control the number of foreign workers in the country, the immigration department will from next month take stern action against employers hiring unregistered foreign workers under the Immigration Act 1959.

References

Pook Ah Lek Editorial Director Sin Chew Daily, Malaysia.