THE call by Indonesia’s Migrant Care policy analyst Wahyu Susilo for their President to push for the legalisation of illegal and undocumented Indonesian workers in Malaysia is preposterous.

This is tantamount to infringing on Malaysia’s sovereignty to determine the status quo of such workers.

It sends the wrong signal to their citizens, that it is okay to come to Malaysia by illegal means, because sooner or later the Malaysian government will legalise them.

Migrant Care should focus on advising their government on how best to provide and improve the economic standing of their citizens instead of passing the buck to Malaysia.

Such a policy is diametrically opposed to the Malaysian government’s stated intent to reduce dependency on foreign labour in the coming years.

It is time the Malaysian government determines a time frame for Malaysian employers to automate the affected sectors and reduce dependency on foreign labour, which comes with it’s attendant social problems.

Malaysian employers should improve working conditions and remuneration in such sectors to attract locals.

GOPALAN MK,

Petaling Jaya.

Source: The Star – January 13, 2008