Illegal worker crackdown will harm Malaysia, say builders

Julia Yeow Agence France Presse Kuala Lumpur

Malaysian builders warned on Friday that a government crackdown on illegal workers when an amnesty expires at the end of this month will cause crippling delays in construction work.

Illegal Indonesian immigrants make up 70 percent of the building industry's 500,000 foreign workers, Vice President of the Master Builders Association of Malaysia Patrick Wong, said on Friday.

"Once the illegal workers have been sent home, there will be a period of anything from two to six months before they can be replaced," Wong said.

"During this time, who is going to do the work? It will be a big problem," he said, urging the government to consider extending the amnesty at least until new migrants could be brought in as replacements.

"Otherwise, work will definitely slow down and we will just live with it and maybe work overtime," he added.

The amnesty, from March 21 to July 31, was granted to allow some 600,000 illegal immigrants in Malaysia to leave without being prosecuted under harsh new immigration laws.

Under the new laws, anyone found guilty of illegal entry or harboring illegal immigrants will face a mandatory six months in jail and possibly up to six strokes of the cane.

Currently, offenders face up to five years in jail or a fine of not more than Malaysian Ringgit 10,000 (US$2,632), but courts mostly impose fines.

Wong said the association, which represents more than 450 companies in the building industry, had submitted a request to the government to allow employers to rehire the existing Indonesian workers on a legal basis.

Wong said the ministry was still reviewing the association's request and had yet to issue a reply.

However, Malaysia's increasing intolerance of illegal workers was also turned against legal immigrants from Indonesia after two riots in January by Indonesian textile and construction workers.

The government then announced Indonesians would be hired in the future only as domestic helpers and plantation workers.

Construction companies are now only allowed to hire workers from 10 countries: Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal, Laos, Vietnam, the Philippines, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

"We want the existing workers, because they have been trained. If we get a new worker, even if he is from Indonesia, we will have to spend several more months training and this will further slow down the projects," said Wong.

He said Indonesians were also favored by employers over workers from other countries due to the similarities with Malaysian culture and language.

Malaysia is home to about 750,000 legal foreign workers.