The problem of Malaysia’s over-reliance on cheap migrant labour – J.D. Lovrenciear

This photo taken today shows a row of foreign citizens sleeping at a shop frontage along Malaysia’s famous Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur.

They are NOT Malaysians going by their looks and the language in which they converse.

This is seemingly a common and growing sight in Kuala Lumpur these days. Sometimes you get to see them aimlessly dotting the cities with a travelling bag, their only possession.

While the government of Malaysia may have programmes in place to provide welfare and care for the growing homeless Malaysians, here is a situation of homeless foreigners who may become a ballooning problem given the country’s continued and blatant reliance on cheap, foreign labour.

The government's recent announcement to bring in another 1.5 million foreign workers has raised serious concerns.

There are already anywhere from six to eight million migrant workers in the country. And of this total, easily some two to four million may in all likelihood be without legal status.

In the past we have heard tales of woe from foreign workers who have been abused by recalcitrant employers. These migrant workers also have their fair share of emotional distress given the fact that they are separated from their loved ones and family for long periods.

In addition, struggling to earn and be able to send back hard cash to help support their poor families back home can be very stressful as these cheap migrant labourers often end up working long hours under harsh conditions.

Those who get cheated by unethical employers and recruiting agents and end up without a valid work permit (renewals) are unable to find decent employment and thereby risk becoming homeless.

Likewise, if they cannot afford healthcare and fear getting detained, they make potential homeless people.

With millions of them in the country, what is the government’s strategy to deal with this potentially ballooning problem of homeless people and those forced to become vagrants?

We are already witnessing many foreign beggars on the streets. A walk downtown in Kuala Lumpur is all that is needed to know of the presence of foreigners who are becoming homeless and jobless in Malaysia.

Securing cheap labour must be reciprocated with moral and ethical responsibility. Employers and the sending and receiving governments cannot be blind to this problem and worse, lump the responsibility of giving due care to the taxpayer or the ailing migrant workers. – March 4, 2016.

* J.D. Lovrenciear reads The Malaysian Insider.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.