Cover image via valuewalk.comYes, what you're watching is the streets of Kuala Lumpur during Chinese New Year. This is not Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal or any other neighboring countries.
We've heard stories of the growing influx of foreigners into our beloved Bolehland, but to witness the full extent of it is shocking. Just how pervasive exactly is our problem with illegal immigration in Malaysia?
Although there are no exact figures, there are millions of undocumented foreign workers in Malaysia. They can start a whole state by themselves!
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Many complain about migrant workers flocking to all the blue collar jobs but that is mainly because hardly any locals want to work in those labour-intensive industries
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Could the increasing number and Malaysia's high dependency on foreign labour be causing a negative impact on the economy, as well as creating political and security threats to the nation?
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So, what exactly is the government doing to curb this growing problem? Is what they're doing enough to get the country out of this predicament?
The government launched an amnesty program back in 2011 so that workers could seek legal recognition, resulting in a total of estimated 1.3 million foreigners signing up!
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Following that, the immigration department have been cracking down on undocumented workers. Some of the more notable crackdowns on illegal immigrants witnessed by the nation include Ops 6P and Ops Gempak.
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However, despite the government's continuous effort, many have managed to find loopholes and worked around the system. Case in point, the famous Project IC scandal involving some of the nation's most powerful political figures.
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This pressing problem seems to still be undeterred despite endless efforts to solve it. What could be an effective solution to a national dilemma as big as this?
Recently, submission of foreign workers' work permits (PLKS) went online. This method is more transparent which will assist the government in differentiating between legal and illegal workers
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The previous manual submission method was proving to be inefficient, and exploited by certain parties. Heard of 'runners'? They exploit and benefit from the manual process, and are now very disgruntled with the switch to digital, as they have lost their income. Yikes!
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However, there is also a downside to going online, with many complaining of the unfamiliarity with the platform. To accommodate those complaints, manual submissions have opened back up until 28 February to ease users into the new system.
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It's certainly clear that we have to keep a lid on this problem, so that we have it under control. However, it's also important not to lose sight of the other side of the story.
Foreign workers in Malaysia have to go through hardships and take considerable effort to adapt to Malaysia's diverse culture, often picking up more than one language
Malaysia is a country of diverse culture, with majority of the people speaking more than one language. Often times, we would find ourselves speaking to migrant workers in Malay or sometimes even Mandarin or Cantonese. Foreign workers from neighbouring countries quickly learn a new language, sometimes maybe even more than just one, to keep their jobs and survive in the country.
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Many migrant workers, legal or illegal, bear through the torment for the significantly higher pay in Malaysia compared to their home countries. Their wages also serve as financial support for their families back home.
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At the end of the day, the issue of illegal foreign labour does not merely end through arrests and deportations, as other factors like the welfare of their children come into play as well
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