Note: I still get a lot of comments by Anonymous. Which I had to delete, as promised. Dear Readers, if you wish to comment, please leave a nickname, pen name, moniker at least. Your real ID/handle preferred, of course.
TTDI, Feb 18
We remember the tale of the 40,000 Bangladeshis who supposedly voted during the last Malaysian General Election, don't we? Admit it, a lot of you actually believed the kelentong by our friends in the Opposition that these foreign workers had been granted citizenship just so that the ruling BN could get extra votes at the polls. Luckily that overzealous new chap from DAP, in his haste to impress, blundered big time ["Colour blind" is the last thing the DAP is - Helen Ang, 20 May 13]. That put an end to the deceit and political ploy. You haven't forgotten but, of course, you don't wish to remember!
Now they're saying that 1.5 million Bangladeshis are being brought in to take over your jobs, eventually your women, and ultimately your country! Bah! Lol!
Malaysia's dependence on foreign workers has been an issue for more than three decades. When I became a journalist in the mid 80s, there were already 500,000 legal foreign workers bugging us. But as Haresh Deol sums up in his column h e r e, Malaysians have themselves to blame. "These foreigners are willing to be part of the dirty, dangerous and difficult industries – dubbed as the 3D. Ironically, Malaysians do not mind washing dishes or cleaning houses in a foreign land as the money, as they say, is good."
This short video clip tells you why the 1.5 million Bangladeshis, like the 40,000 Bangladeshis in 2013, are about some people trying to win the next General Election at all cost.
Read also: Most Bangladeshis are good Muslims, by Life of Annie.
ReplyDelete"Like the 40,000 Bangladeshis, 1.5 million is about political mileage"
No, the 1.5 million Bangladeshis is about money, cronyism and nepotism.
Pure and simple.
Let's do a fact check:
a) Not a single study has been made to determine whether the actual number required is as high as that, nor any attempt to see what number would be needed AFTER the six million illegal workers already here have been vetted, registered and made legal.
b) Why were foreign worker levies doubled suddenly, then Zahid's brother gets the contract, hurriedly denied, and then reconfirmed, then another crony gets a share of the (now much more lucrative) pie?
This is what Bangladesh thinks:
http://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/firm-dubious-records-charge-154780
Looks like Putrajaya's "trust deficit" has gone international.
The manipulation is clear, as is the fact that nobody really cares if we get flooded with people we don't need.
And Zahid's kin IS making money off it, after all:
"Businessman Abdul Hakim Hamidi today clarified that his company Real Time Networking is not making a lot of money from the recruitment of 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers. Hakim, who is the brother of Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, said the firm is not providing the management system in Malaysia, but is assisting agents in Bangladesh."
Sounds vague - as vague as the justification for needing 1.5 million Bangladeshis in the first place.
Does Putrakaya know the words "conflict of interest"?
I don't think there would be any bruhaha if Zahid's brother is not the agent. After-all, it was Zahid who first mooted the idea that the country need 1.5 million foreign labors. Lo and behold, his brother gets the 'AP'.
ReplyDeleteThat's why people are angry about. To most people, politicians are just about enriching themselves and their families. Rakyat's well-being is the last thing on their mind.
Rahimah binti Dollah.
ReplyDelete"We remember the tale of the 42,000,000 ringgit which supposedly made its way into the PM's account without his knowledge, even though he used the company's credit card for personal items, don't we? Admit it, a lot of you actually believed the kelentong by our friends on the PMO payroll that the PM had no idea the money was even there - oh, wait a minute.
No, no-one believed them for half a second.
Sorry. My mistake.
"These foreigners are willing to be part of the dirty, dangerous and difficult industries – dubbed as the 3D. Ironically, Malaysians do not mind washing dishes or cleaning houses in a foreign land as the money, as they say, is good."
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how Haresh Deol is contradicting himself. IF the pay for the 3D jobs in Malaysia is as good as washing dishes and cleaning houses in foreign lands, locals would have no problem in doing it because the problem here is the pay, not the job.
No one deserved to be treated the way most of these foreign workers are being treated currently.
ReplyDeleteNo one deserved to die because of non-existent safety standards at their workplace.
No one deserved to live in squalor like most of these foreign workers are because their employers think it is probably still better than how they lived in the country of origin.
Preserving the status quo is not going to get us nearer to a high income nation. The health & safety standards of 3D jobs need to be improved. Then maybe locals will not shy away from it.
SA
I have been living in UK for 15 years, I am a professional working and already a PR in UK. I got to know a lot of Malaysian who are mostly accompanying their spouses who are postgrad students. I know for a fact that most of these Malaysians work as cleaners and a variety of 3D jobs . And some are even working overnights . Most of them are Malays. Don't you ever again say Malays are lazy and shun 3D jobs. They are ever willing to do these unglamorous jobs because they get paid well with minimum wage of £6 per hour and more for OT works and overnight duties. Give our youths minimum wage of just 1500 and you will see a stampede of them and we can do away with migrant workers . Why is our govt not doing this. Because there is tons of money to be made among the goons . You think they care what can happen to our country now flooded with migrant workers. My question to you Rocky is can u see what is happening to our country and do you care? Or you are one of the traitorous goons. ?
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteIf an attempt of 40,000 was a hock ,the 1.5 million is for real .
There's so much talk about locals shunning these jobs. I think these Bangladeshis are here partly because it's easier to exploit them.
ReplyDeleteLocals won't work 16hrs a day for a three-digit sum minus benefits such as epf/socso.
This will make it easier for employers/sectors in need of the Bangladeshis to keep running/operating costs low.
Interesting read,thanks for informative article,really i like your article..
ReplyDeleteThe BN government poised to loose in the next election due to wrong decision to allow 1.5 millions Bangladesh workers to be spread over 3 years span.There's entry plans but no exit plans.Crux of illegal immigrants worker forces and non work forces ( immigrant wife's and children) sprouting throughout the country with care less by authorities, ignored by many government agen ies.Illegal workers,illegal immigrant work seekers ,illegal immigrant wife's and children was not counted in.What a mess and getting worsened days by days.
ReplyDeleteWhile I fully agree that the 40,000 Bangladeshi voters was the worst class and most disgusting political story ever, but the 1.5 million workers issue is again UMNO-politicians-smart-mouth backfired effect.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I wonder...these people cannot be that stupid...but again, and again they proved that Ahmad Maslan is not a one in a million case.
ReplyDeleteHere we go again:
"Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, Bangladesh Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry acting secretary Begum Shamsun Nahar also described the move as an “eyewash”.
“The Malaysian government has made the announcement to calm local pressure groups who are opposed to recruiting foreign workers,” she was quoted as saying by the Bangladeshi newspaper.
She then expressed belief that Putrajaya will honour the memorandum of understanding it signed with Dhaka on Thursday, just a day before it announced the moratorium, to recruit some of the 1.5 million labourers available.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday announced that Putrajaya was suspending the intake of all foreign workers with immediate effect and urging employers to hire locals instead."
Can we start counting the number of lies and flip-flops on this one?
Only 9 so far (I'm counting back a few months to the various evasions over who was going to make $$$$$$ off the contracts, re-registrations, etc.)
Or is Bangladesh also part of the Komplot Yahudi, because they've just called us complete liars?
But why stop at only 9 lies, Putrakaya?
Kipidap!
There's entry plans but no exit plans.
ReplyDeleteThere's so much talk about the locals shunning these jobs
ReplyDelete