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