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©The Malay Mail
(Used by permission)
by Zalinah Noordin
SUNGAI Buloh New Village exists as the ‘Village above the law’ — so dubbed due
to the many illegals among the estimated 50,000 foreigners found there — only
because Malaysians encourage the situation, exploit it and profit from it.
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other bodies in the country have
pointed the finger at “greedy, nasty and ugly” Malaysians for contributing to
the growing numbers of illegal foreign workers in the country.
Their accusations followed a Malay Mail expose last Tuesday on the thousands of
foreign workers - many of whom no longer have valid work permits or visas - who
have made the Sungai Buloh New Village their workplace and home. Many small
businesses and also operate many of the stalls at the township’s pasar malam,
catering to the requirements of the large numbers of Nepalese, Myanmar,
Vietnamese and Bangladeshis who seemingly have the run of the place.
Some of the women are also known to be involved in prostitution.
Bar Council president Datuk Ambiga Sreenivasan said the fault for this lies with
Malaysians in employing foreign workers, “Yes, it’s indeed the fault of certain
parties that this has happened. There are some unscrupulous employers who hire
foreign workers illegally, overlooking matters such as proper documentation.
“As a result, when their term ends, the foreign workers are left to fend for
themselves, not knowing the proper channel to turn to and, as a result, they end
up overstaying.” Foreign Maids Agency Association (PAPA) president Datuk Raja
Zulkepley Dahalan said that while the country had an issue to address,
Malaysians were themselves to be blamed for this.
“The people should realise the importance of following the proper procedures
when hiring foreign workers if they don’t want problems in the long run,” he
said. According to him, Malaysians are these days very selective of the type of
work they do, resulting in the need to hire foreigners, at lower wages, to do
the kind of jobs the local people do not want. Local companies too resort to
employing foreign workers as they are cheaper to hire, and easier to fire.
Furthermore, there were “far fewer social obligations and commitments” for
employers using foreign workers.
Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) president Syed Shahril Syed Mohamed held
a similar view.
”The problem of illegal immigrant workers has been around for quite some years
now, so how come we are taking such a long time to come up with any solution?”
Syed Shahril said there were also many rackets going on, resulting in foreign
workers getting the short end of the stick.
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