Malaysia downgrades RI workers<\/p>\n
Julia Yeow, Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur<\/p>\n
Indonesians will be hired only as maids and plantation workers
\nunder a new Malaysian labor policy in the wake of a riot at a
\ntextile factory, the government announced on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Indonesians
\nwould be replaced in other sectors with workers from Thailand,
\nCambodia, Nepal, Myanmar, Laos, the Philippines and India.<\/p>\n
Abdullah, who said Indonesians were previously employed in
\nalmost all sectors, earlier held talks with representatives from
\nthe private sector to explain the new labor policy.<\/p>\n
\"In the past we never restricted which sectors workers from
\ndifferent source countries could work in, but now we have done
\nso,\" he told reporters after the session, adding that those
\ncurrently working could continue until their permits expired.<\/p>\n
\"We have told the private sectors that if they need to expand
\ntheir businesses, they should have factories that use more
\nautomation and are capital intensive.<\/p>\n
\"Then there will not be the need for more laborers,\" he said,
\nadding that the government would limit the number of foreign
\nworkers in the country \"from time to time\".<\/p>\n
Malaysia was angered by a riot by 400 Indonesian textile
\nworkers at their factory over drug tests on Jan. 17.<\/p>\n
The factory riot was followed three days later with a rampage
\nby more than 70 Indonesian construction workers armed with
\nmachetes at Cyberjaya, a hi-tech suburb south of Kuala Lumpur.<\/p>\n
Abdullah, who is also home (interior) minister, added that the
\ngovernment was tightening working visa entries as the country
\nwanted to reduce its dependence on foreign labor.<\/p>\n
\"We have certainly been very, very liberal (with visa
\napprovals). We are encouraging people to come to Malaysia ... but
\nwe have to be more careful with applications of those who want to
\ncome here to work.\"<\/p>\n
The deputy premier said many foreigners had entered as
\ntourists and overstayed their visas, making it difficult for the
\ngovernment to trace them.<\/p>\n
\"We will have to be more stringent (because) once their visa
\nperiod has ended they remain here as foreigners but without
\ndocuments. Then we have a problem.\"<\/p>\n
Representatives from the private sector welcomed the new
\nrequirements as a more systematic way of handling foreign labor
\nbut warned that slashing the number of Indonesians could affect
\nthe production of local manufacturers.<\/p>\n
\"The new policy balances out the sources of foreign workers
\nand tries to minimize labor, which is good,\" said Foo Say Jan,
\nchief operating officer of a factory producing air cooling
\nsystems.<\/p>\n
\"But as for production, we can't tell yet how much they will
\nbe affected because there are many factories that have really
\nhigh labor dependence,\" Foo told AFP.<\/p>\n
Home ministry secretary-general Aseh Che Mat said last month
\nthat Indonesians now make up 566,983 out of a total of 769,566
\nlegal foreign workers in the country.<\/p>\n
Labor experts in Indonesia on Monday expressed fears that
\nMalaysia's blacklisting of its workers would worsen Jakarta's
\nalready acute unemployment crisis.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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