I HAD spent some eight years working in Japan and returned to Malaysia 13 years ago. I now run an small medium enterprise in Nilai.

I am rather appalled by Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin’s unbecoming behaviour when he poured cold water on a proposal for Malaysia to send blue collar workers to Japan.

He had insinuated that Malaysia was going to be a source of labour for the so-called 3D jobs (dirty, dangerous and difficult), not unlike how we import workers from neighbouring countries as maids and construction workers.

I am perplexed by Khairy’s carrot-grade understanding of this issue.

The former youth and sports minister obviously has no inkling on what it means to work in Japan.

The country is a technological giant in its own right. Workers are able to pick up many useful technological skills there.

Back in the day, my peers and me will save up enough to make our ways to land a job in Japan. It was a big deal for us.

For Malaysians who read Chinese, they are able to adapt more easily to the Land of the Rising Sun because of the similarities between Chinese and Japanese writing systems.

While a major draw were the salaries (we could easily save up to RM100,000 over three years), that was not all.

We all could learn new skills from the Japanese who are at the technological forefront in many industries. And let’s not forget about the Japanese work ethic, something that has been ingrained in its workers.

While it has been years since I returned to Malaysia, I would not have been able to build up my modest production facility had I not been exposed to Japanese technology and its amazing work ethic.

In fact, when I hire my workers, I would give preference to those who had worked in Japan before.

Having had a working stint in Japan does wonders to a worker. If the Human Resources Ministry wants to send workers there by the thousands, we should welcome the move with open arms.

For the Japanese government to accept these people as workers, is an admission that the Malaysian workforce is up to par.

Do not forget that in Japan, a lot of things are automated where there are very few menial jobs around.

Eventually, these people will come back and add value to our nation. There is really no need to play petty politics over this, YB Khairy. – May 16, 2019

* Marcus Chan reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.