KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 ― Another group stepped up this afternoon to echo concerns raised earlier over Putrajaya’s plan to hire 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers, saying the intake would only lead to the spread of new diseases in Malaysia and create security problems.
The Malay Consultative Council (MPM), a group representing over 50 Malay-Muslim non-governmental organisations (NGOs) nationwide, told a press conference that it agrees that the entry of so many foreign workers would bring about dire socio-economic repercussions, including terrorism and rape cases.
Instead of going ahead with the intake, which is meant to fill positions in 3D (dangerous, dirty and difficult) industries, MPM urged Putrajaya to come up with a solution to reduce dependence on cheap foreign labour.
“There are a lot of negative implications with the flooding of foreigners into this country.
“Health reasons is a concern as some of them bring about diseases with them when they come here,” MPM secretary-general Datuk Dr Hasan Mad told the news conference.
“When so many of them come in, of course there will be some who will slip through and take advantage.
“There are also security concerns because these foreign workers contribute to the problem of outflow of money from the country,” he added.
MPM's stand echoes the remarks of Pertubuhan Rapat Malaysia president A. Rajaretinam who claimed earlier today that the influx of migrant workers was a major threat to national security and the health and safety of Malaysians.
He claimed that it was a norm for foreign workers to rape local women, and a lot of new diseases have been found in Malaysia since the influx of foreign workers here.
Putrajaya has been publicly roasted over a planned intake of 1.5 million Bangladeshis to fill a void in industries seen as dirty, dangerous and difficult, namely in the plantation, manufacturing, construction, and cleaning service sectors.
Locals are seen to shy away from these 3D industries due to a number of reasons, including the low floor wage.
