By J D Lovrenciear

Those from the sanctified hallways of government have admonished Malaysians for their unwillingness to take on ‘dirty, dangerous and difficult’ jobs that now await 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers.

Someone from the Majlis Perbandaran Seberang Prai (MPSP) recently proved Umno leaders wrong when he related how thousands of Malaysians have taken over 3D jobs at the council that were previously subcontracted and carried out by foreign workers.

Many who are opposed to the government’s plan to bring in another 1.5 million foreign workers – given the nearly eight million already in the country, are saying Malaysians are being robbed of employment opportunities.

NGOs are supporting the public’s outcry and demanding that the minimum wage policy be implemented and if paid right, Malaysians too would take up 3D jobs.

Malaysian union leaders and their representatives however claim that the issue does not lie solely with wages but the status of the 3D jobs that Malaysians are shying away from.

Who is right and who is wrong?

Firstly, it is most unbecoming of leaders – especially the deputy prime minister to label work as “dirty.”

All religions propagate honour and dignity for work. Work is a blessing as it provides humanity with a means to earn a living. So, when a leader labels some jobs as “dirty” he is sending out the misguided perception about that particular work and is in the process failing miserably to uplift all work as contributing to wellbeing of humanity.

Secondly, if there are Malaysians as in the case of the MPSP, who are working as garbage collectors and street sweepers as well as those elsewhere in the country tending to their family plots in hills and valleys, it is most unjustified to peddle the claim that Malaysians are unwilling to do these “3D jobs.”

Thirdly, if indeed Malaysia has become a well-managed, progressive nation under the Barisan Nasional government, why are we still unable to implement better wages let alone minimum wage scales? Why are we still harping on importing cheap labour?

The country’s 30 million population has about 20 million in the working age group of 15-64. Of these, only about 14 million are employed. We can safely extrapolate that some five to six million are jobless or unable to find work or be employed.

Why didn’t the BN government better prepare school dropouts to take on the jobs we now claim only foreigners are willing to do? And whatever happened to the graduates of vocational schools who did not pursue a university education?

Politicians and their paid stooges must accept the fact that despite being voted in for over five decades, they have failed to better prepare and manage the country’s human capital and social development.

If our leaders are claiming that the social status or ‘stigma’ attached to these ‘3D’ jobs is the reason why we must now hire another 1.5 million Bangladeshis, then union leaders have failed to demand from the government help to build the true perception about work and to make work less dangerous and not too difficult.

If low wages paid by the industries concerned is the real issue, what have the leaders of BN done to ensure that citizens’ right to fair wages is protected, sustained and enhanced?

“Malaysia Bolih”; “Malaysia Inc”; “1Malaysia” and “Transformasi” – these are some of the bloated slogans we have been using all this while. Yet close to 10 million jobs are being taken over by foreign workers while some five to six million Malaysians remain jobless or are unemployable.

In hard times, our leaders direct us to take on extra jobs so we can make ends meet. But get real. Look around. Every eatery, every petrol pump station, everywhere we find a non-Malaysian working for RM600 to RM1,500.

Our leaders have failed. Our business community meanwhile capitalises on the opportunity to make bigger profits with the easy and cheap hiring of foreign workers.

Meanwhile, let us be reminded of how our government has failed us in terms of maximising its human capital and ensuring social development. For Malaysians we now know that there are dirty, dangerous and difficult jobs that only foreign workers are suited to do.

J D Lovrenciear is an FMT reader.

With a firm belief in freedom of expression and without prejudice, FMT tries its best to share reliable content from third parties. Such articles are strictly the writer’s personal opinion. FMT does not necessarily endorse the views or opinions given by any third party content.