THE idea to reduce the considerable presence of foreign workers – both documented and undocumented – is an excellent one. The fact that this has been accepted in the Pakistan Harapan Manifesto underlines the importance and urgency the present government has accorded to this problem.

Out of the nearly 15 or 16 million workers in the country, it is estimated that nearly 30% of the workforce is made up of foreign workers. In fact, the presence of foreign workers increased during the period of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government due to a variety of reasons.

It is common knowledge that during that period many relatives, friends and cronies of BN politicians were given licences and permits to import and distribute foreign workers to the highest bidders. The provision of permits to import foreign workers from countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia and others to individuals and companies became a lucrative source of revenue for those who used the apparatus of the state mechanisms to enrich themselves. 

The whole process of foreign labour importation reeked of corruption, blatant abuse of power, exploitation of those who required the services of workers and not the least imposed inhuman conditions on those who brought to work in the country. 

Division and provision of permits for foreign workers assigned to the different economic sectors were a mere formality, as once brought into the country they moved with considerable ease from one sector to another due to corruption and greed. Monitoring mechanisms introduced to curb such migration proved to be a meaningless exercise.

Given the uninterrupted flow of foreign cheap labour both documented and undocumented, employers had no problem in engaging them and at the same time did not need the services of local workers. 

The government bought into the argument of the employers in the country that local labour was difficult to procure and that they were not interested. These employers convinced the government that foreign workers were an integral part of the whole economy. It is not that the state did not suspect the real motives of employers, but since the permits to import foreign labour became an effective source of patronage for their supporters and cronies, there was no reason for the politicians to really question the motives of employers both genuine and not.
 

What went wrong

PH has come to federal power at a rather opportune time in the country’s history. The fact that Ministry of Human Resources has made it a point to think of reducing the large presence of foreign workers is an excellent idea. I have no problem with this rather significant stand. 

However, before any policy measures are enacted, there is an urgent need to examine what really went wrong during the BN period; how were the permits to import foreign labour abused, who were the beneficiaries, what were their connections with some BN politicians, why employers had to pay exorbitant sums to get the services of foreign labour, and any other form of misdeeds and abuse of power.

Unless and until there is a systematic and comprehensive study of the foreign labour utilisation during the BN period, spanning many decades, there is a possibility that policy measures adopted by PH to reduce the presence of foreign workers in different economic sectors might not have the desired effect. 

The Minister of Human Resources, M. Kulasegaran might have the good intention to start off by insisting that all cooks employed in restaurants by July 1, 2018, must be locals, with the grace period of nearly six months, until Dec 31, 2018. However, it must be remembered that about two years ago, when Penang imposed a similar ruling by the local authorities, it was meant for hawker stalls and not restaurants. In Penang, restaurants were spared.

For any policy to be adopted and implemented, two things must be clear. Whether the policy is sound – in other words, it must not impose hardship on Malaysians. Second, whether the policy or measure could be implemented with the expected high level of voluntary compliance from society. 

The policy announced for restaurants to employ local cooks might be a sound one in the long run with the ultimate objective of reducing foreign workers. Right now, restaurants and hawker stalls employ a large number of foreign cooks. There is no question about it. Something ought to be done to ensure that at some point in time local cooks are employed.  But then, an abrupt announcement might do more harm than good. 

I think that the ministry must prepare the employers for this eventual possibility and not announce that they have to comply by the beginning of July. The six months’ grace period might not mean anything to the government if effective implementation is problematic. Why do we have to alienate a segment of society that has supported PH to clean the mess of corruption and misdeeds of BN?

While I am all for the ultimate reduction of foreign workers in the country, I think that a long-term policy framework should be adopted on the basis of systematic study for the reduction of foreign workers without imposing undue and unnecessary hardship on Malaysians. The PH government being qualitatively different from BN must prepare Malaysians to helm the economy on the basis of a major transformation of society, with a renewed emphasis on the creation of skilled labour force with high wages.

* P. Ramasamy is Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang

* 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.