~Labor crunch

~Labor crunch

Having postponed the amnesty period over and again, the
government has finally taken the decisive step to flush out
illegal foreign workers still lurking in the country.

After the raid operation, the construction and manufacturing
industries have suffered serious labor shortage; many eateries
have gone out of business; sales at sundry shops have dropped
drastically; the oil palm industry is in tatters. In other words,
thanks to a lack of timely preventive measures, foreseeable
consequences have materialized.

The government has turned down the proposals to legalize
illegal foreign workers on the spot. Now the government is
sending away these illegals and want them to spend some money to
come back here through legal channels. The sheer waste in
resources should have been avoided.

While we still need a lot of foreign workers in this country,
any strategy related to foreign labor should therefore be far-
sighted. There is no point making a lot of noise and then allow
everything to fall back to square one again.

-- Sin Chew Daily, Selangor, Malaysia

Direct elections in Egypt

President Hosni Mubarak has just called for the Constitution
to be amended so as to allow more than one candidate to run for
president in direct and free elections. Commentators argue that
no candidate can pose a credible challenge to Mubarak.

Egypt is emerging from half a century of patriarchal rule
during which the president's charisma and the backing of the
military hindered the search for political alternatives. In
patriarchal regimes the leader is projected as father to the
entire nation and the thought of his absence is often
disconcerting.

The public, as well as the opposition, have lived for a long
time in this climate. There may not be enough candidates capable
of catching the nation's imagination. Yet this is a historic
opportunity. The election has to be fair and free. It will test
the nation's political maturity as much as it will test the
candidates already waiting in the wings.
-- Al-Ahram, Cairo

Argentina's debt restructuring

The best thing about Argentina's successful US$100 billion
debt restructuring is that it holds the promise of ridding the
country of its status as an economic pariah and improving the
lives of its citizens.

It's easy to forget, amid all the self-congratulation by the
Argentine government, that the mismanagement of the economy led
to six years of lost growth, an increase in poverty, job loss on
a massive scale and general social and economic misery.
Bankruptcy isn't pretty.

At a time when Latin America is beginning to feel the
competitive economic pressure from China, the Argentine deal
gives potential investors reasons to think twice about investing
in Latin America. By forcing investors to settle for 30 cents on
the dollar - a new low in such a massive default - Argentina has
increased the risk premium, which potential lenders and investors
would be foolish to ignore.

-- Miami Herald

The litigation game

We are all too conversant with the proclivity of party in
power to involve its political opponents in litigation on
corruption charges. The process commences, soon after a newly
elected government has taken over the reins of power, sometimes
with the issuing of what is euphemistically called a 'white
paper' containing 'black deeds' of the past government, preceded
by a period of witch hunting aided by various agencies.

We ask whether these cases are really motivated by the desire
to root out corruption from public domain starting with the
politicians or it is merely a ploy to wreak vendetta and reprisal
on the political opponents?

We are constrained to make the query, given the outcome of
most of these cases we have seen all these years, that are either
quashed by the court for lack of evidence or are set aside
particularly in respect of those that were against the ruling
party members, by the party in power. Regrettably, we are yet to
see a juridical conclusion of or any conviction in, any of the
cases.

Corruption must be curbed at all costs and by all manner and
means, and dishonest individuals must be called to account,
whatever be the rank or political status, but such action must
not be bereft of objectivity and transparency.
-- The Daily Star, Dhaka