LETTER | Postpone planned crackdown on undocumented migrants

LETTER | The Ministry of Home Affairs planned crackdown on undocumented foreigners at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country and emergency is seen as a misplaced priority.

Why pick a time during a lockdown to embark on such an exercise?

We do not seem to have learnt from the first raids carried out by the immigration on these people in 2020 which resulted in a surge of infections in detention centres due to overcrowding.

We surely do not want a repeat of this as it could mean more problems for the healthcare system which is already on the verge of collapse.

The top priority of the authorities now with every Malaysian is to unite and fight to flatten the Covid-19 infection curve and eventually overcome the virus.

A crackdown should only be carried out during a more conducive time. The target should not only be the undocumented workers but also the employers who hire them.

Please let the dust on the pandemic settle, then embark on the crackdown to resolve the problem.

The huge number of illegal workers in the country itself is a grave concern. I am not wrong to say that this has rubbed salt into the Covid-19 wound in Malaysia.

The authorities should seriously press for employers who are convicted of hiring illegal workers to be caned. Imposing a fine on the culprits is not the solution as many employers have no qualms about hiring them even during the pandemic

The Immigration Act 1959/1963 was amended in 2002 for caning to be meted out. I am not wrong to say that a few illegal workers who were arrested a couple of years ago had the full brunt of the law thrown at them.

Those who were convicted were jailed and caned. The same punishment should be meted out to employers convicted of hiring them.

Employers have been let off with mere fines, a tap on the wrist. Even increasing the fine on employers under the Employment Restriction Act is not the solution, but, rather, enforcement is the key.

We have long been too dependent on cheap foreign labour. We must move forward and change our mindset. Moving ahead with the required knowledge and technology is the only way to progress and have the edge.

There are an estimated one million undocumented foreign workers in the country. I am not wrong to say that the problem has been allowed to balloon over the years due to lax enforcement. The problem is further compounded with some of these undocumented foreigners going to the extent of setting up businesses.

There has been a lot of talk by some employers that locals do not want to do certain jobs. Why point the finger at the locals?

The pandemic should be a wake call for the authorities.

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