LETTERS – I REFER to the announcement by the human resources minister regarding the new memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Bangladeshi workers to be referred to the cabinet soon.
There is also a proposal from the Home Ministry to allow recruitment of security guards from Bangladesh. We often hear that the number of Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia is too high.
That is why the government should provide the exact number of workers from Bangladesh and other countries, including expatriates. It seems that workers from Bangladesh are dominating the manufacturing, services and construction sectors, replacing Indonesians.
I think some have this suspicion that the number of Bangladeshi and Nepali workers has even exceeded some ethnic minorities. This could led to social and security problems in the future if they overstay and become illegal workers.
Bangladeshi workers are not just found working, but also starting small- and medium-scale businesses and running renovation work companies. Some of them even hire Malaysians as employees.
You don’t need to go far. One can look at Petaling Street, Low Yat Plaza and Bukit Bintang, where local traders are being replaced by Bangladeshi traders. This is not right because we don’t bring them in here to be involved in business and compete with Malaysians.
I hope the government would prioritise local jobseekers and defer the new recruitment of foreign workers, especially those from Bangladesh.
Source: C.K (NST)
