For better control of aliens

For better control of aliens

It is an understatement to say that Malaysia's dependence on foreign labor in its rapid industrialization pace is causing the country a headache. As events unfolded in the past year, locals could not help but gather the impression that if no effective solution is found to deal with the burgeoning problem, it will inevitably develop into a nightmare for the government and the people. The end result as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad aptly warned on Monday may be that the country will be swamped and its security endangered.

Engaging foreign workers is not a bad thing per se and is not unique to Malaysia which faces an acute labor shortage. It was not long ago that Parliament was told that foreign labor will continue to play a prominent role in the construction and plantation sectors beyond the year 2000. But having said that, we cannot turn a blind eye to the negative consequences of foreign labor employment from the economic, social and security viewpoints. Thus, the government's announcement on Wednesday that recruitment of unskilled foreign labor for all sectors will be frozen with immediate effect, comes as no surprise to many.

Swamped with 1.7 million foreign workers, including illegals, the rumblings and signals had been there for a while. Apart from statements by the top leaders, more stringent laws have been introduced and there are the actions to regularize and to hunt down illegals. In addition, approvals for new entry permits for foreign workers in the construction, services and plantation sectors have stopped since July 10 last year. All these point to a rigorous effort to tackle this difficult problem and bring it under control.

-- The New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur