Illegal worker crackdown will harm Malaysia, say builders<\/p>\n
Julia Yeow, Agence France Presse, Kuala Lumpur<\/p>\n
Malaysian builders warned on Friday that a government
\ncrackdown on illegal workers when an amnesty expires at the end
\nof this month will cause crippling delays in construction work.<\/p>\n
Illegal Indonesian immigrants make up 70 percent of the
\nbuilding industry's 500,000 foreign workers, Vice President of
\nthe Master Builders Association of Malaysia Patrick Wong, said on
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
"Once the illegal workers have been sent home, there will be a
\nperiod of anything from two to six months before they can be
\nreplaced," Wong said.<\/p>\n
"During this time, who is going to do the work? It will be a
\nbig problem," he said, urging the government to consider
\nextending the amnesty at least until new migrants could be
\nbrought in as replacements.<\/p>\n
"Otherwise, work will definitely slow down and we will just
\nlive with it and maybe work overtime," he added.<\/p>\n
The amnesty, from March 21 to July 31, was granted to allow
\nsome 600,000 illegal immigrants in Malaysia to leave without
\nbeing prosecuted under harsh new immigration laws.<\/p>\n
Under the new laws, anyone found guilty of illegal entry or
\nharboring illegal immigrants will face a mandatory six months in
\njail and possibly up to six strokes of the cane.<\/p>\n
Currently, offenders face up to five years in jail or a fine
\nof not more than Malaysian Ringgit 10,000 (US$2,632), but courts
\nmostly impose fines.<\/p>\n
Wong said the association, which represents more than 450
\ncompanies in the building industry, had submitted a request to
\nthe government to allow employers to rehire the existing
\nIndonesian workers on a legal basis.<\/p>\n
Wong said the ministry was still reviewing the association's
\nrequest and had yet to issue a reply.<\/p>\n
However, Malaysia's increasing intolerance of illegal workers
\nwas also turned against legal immigrants from Indonesia after two
\nriots in January by Indonesian textile and construction workers.<\/p>\n
The government then announced Indonesians would be hired in
\nthe future only as domestic helpers and plantation workers.<\/p>\n
Construction companies are now only allowed to hire workers
\nfrom 10 countries: Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal, Laos,
\nVietnam, the Philippines, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and
\nTurkmenistan.<\/p>\n
"We want the existing workers, because they have been trained.
\nIf we get a new worker, even if he is from Indonesia, we will
\nhave to spend several more months training and this will further
\nslow down the projects," said Wong.<\/p>\n
He said Indonesians were also favored by employers over
\nworkers from other countries due to the similarities with
\nMalaysian culture and language.<\/p>\n
Malaysia is home to about 750,000 legal foreign workers.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/illegal-worker-crackdown-will-harm-malaysia-say-builders-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }