LETTER | Meaningless growth

LETTER | With Covid-19 pandemic and the movement control order (MCO), the problems associated with foreign workers, both documented and undocumented, are again in the forefront. Suddenly, we find ourselves unable to handle them properly.

But frankly, is this something we are not aware of? I think we are just letting the problems grow and fester so long as people with vested interests are happy and protected.

“Trafficking and dealing” with foreign workers have become one of the biggest money-making machines for many people. Officials, employers, human traffickers, and thugs and gangsters have all benefit from it.

It is as if we do not know by now this nation has become one of the giant dumps of mostly unskilled and undocumented foreign workers. It is as if we do not know most of these workers are living in deplorable conditions.

But the argument has always been that magic GDP growth we wanted. The country is short of manpower and so we need these foreigners to come in to fill the gap, uncontrolled and unfettered.

When we need a massive number of foreign workers to generate our GDP, it basically means Malaysia is growing beyond its potential. The bulk of the GDP so created is by foreigners.

This means the size of Malaysia’s GDP is a misnomer. It has nothing much to do with the general wellbeing of Malaysians. GDP not created by Malaysians does not belong to Malaysians.

GDP created by foreign workers essentially benefit their exploiters and those involved in trafficking them.

Ordinary Malaysians only get to share the downside of foreign workers. We have to fight with them for jobs with depressed wages. We get to share with them more congestion, garbage, diseases, deplorable housing and degradation of our living environment.

Say whatever we like, years ago, Malaysia was a pristine country. Our population was small. Our GDP growth was orderly and in harmony with the environment. We did not have massive garbage problems, housing shortage, water contamination, pollution and massive traffic congestion.

But what did neck-breaking growth and development do to us? Are we really better off?

I think we can’t keep arguing that our economy needs more foreign workers. This is not right. Our economy should produce what we Malaysians are capable of producing. Anything beyond that does not benefit ordinary Malaysians but only imposing us more problems.

I do not know it is by design or geographical reasons, New Zealand and Norway are two countries that keep their population small. They are not obsessed with GDP growth. They do not entice foreign investment or workers into their countries. They let their respective countries grow at their own pace.

Today, are they behind others in any way? If not for anything, at least they keep their countries orderly, clean and pristine.

What about us, after years of “Asian tigers and dragons” growth, what have we achieved that we can be proud of? 

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

Keep up with the latest information on the outbreak in the country with Malaysiakini's free Covid-19 tracker.

Malaysiakini is providing free access to the most important updates on the coronavirus pandemic. You can find them here.

Help keep independent media alive - subscribe to Malaysiakini.