LOCAL dive operators in Terengganu are in a bind over foreigners on resort islands monopolising the sector, killing their business in the process.

Some operators admitted that hiring foreign divers and trainers is inevitable due to the lack of experienced local divers.

At the same time these foreigners are also breaking the law by using tourist visas to work.

A dive instructor told The Malaysian Insight that scuba dive centres prefer to hire foreign divers because foreigners do not ask for a high salary.

Amirul, 46, who has 14 years of experience as a diver, said there are many of them in resort islands such as Perhentian, Kapas, Redang and Tioman.

“The dive centres like to hire them because they don’t need to pay more, or to pay Employees’ Provident Fund or Social Security Organisation. If they hire locals, then they would need to pay,” he said.

Amirul said local divers in Terengganu are usually paid between RM3,000 and RM5,000, including commission.

Foreign divers nicknamed “Mat Saleh” can enjoy diving while working by only asking for accommodation, food and small wages, he said.

“This is their modus operandi. Because for them, having a place to stay and something to eat while also being able to explore the island are more than enough.

“They consider this a holiday without high costs,” he said.

He suspects most of these divers stayed on the islands in the country beyond the permitted period without applying for a work visa.

However, Amirul said this group often escaped enforcement because they would pretend to be tourists.

“When their visas are about to expire, they have this modus operandi where they will go to Thailand for a day or two and then come back to Malaysia,” he said.

He added that those from the West escaped punishment easily because some locals think they are different from other foreigners.

“Our locals also practise double standards, tending to think that foreigners only refer to Rohingya and Bangladeshis.

“They are not reported to the authorities,” he said.

He further claimed that half of these white divers also dared to run the centres by renting them from locals.

Unfortunately, there is no specific agency that monitors the activities of such centres, said Amirul.

“If you ask how many centres there are, we don’t have the data for that. Because there is no proper monitoring body.

“Usually this dive centre is under a travel agent, but we cannot call them a travel agency because the business is not big.

“It can be categorised as a small and medium enterprise and I believe there are many unregistered dive centres,” he said.

Amirul said the time has come for stricter enforcement because the current scenario will damage the sector and not help promote local tourism.

“They don’t understand the culture or the history of the islands and the country so they can’t promote the islands and Malaysia as the locals do. To me, this is a big loss,” he said.

Disciplinary issues, qualifications of local divers

Another diver, Mohd Amirul, 38, believed such a situation would not persist if locals followed the law and acquired proper qualifications to become trainers.

He said local divers fail the set qualification test to be a guide or coach.

“For example, for us to qualify to reach the level of a dive master, it usually takes six months to get a licence.

“But I heard it takes 20 days to issue the licence, so it’s clearly wrong,” said Mohd Amirul, who has been a diver since 1999.

The native of Pulau Redang said he is no longer active as a diver and can only earn an income as a fisherman.

Abdul Aziz Che Abdullah, a tourism activist who runs a resort on Pulau Perhentian, said the problem has been going on for a long time, but resort operators see it as a win-win situation.

The former chairman of the association of resort operators acknowledged the lack of qualified local divers, leaving centres with no choice but to hire foreign divers.

They will suffer a great loss if they do not allow these foreigners to serve as dive instructors because this group will bring tourists from outside, he said.

Aziz added that there are more than 30 dive centres operating on Pulau Perhentian and they are trying to train the island’s young people to pass the qualification test.

“Right now we are training young people to become skilled and certified divers, because we understand this issue as well.

“The only problem with young people these days is that they lack discipline, they have their own temperament. That is what we’re trying to deal with now,” he said. – September 19, 2022.