I refer to the statement by Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin that Malaysian youth are shunning jobs considered dirty, dangerous and difficult (3D) hence forcing the government to bring in 1.5 million Bangladeshis into the country. Khairy made the statement in defence of his cabinet colleague Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also the country’s Home Minister. From my experience as a Municipal Councillor for the past two and a half years, I know for a fact that this claim is totally inaccurate and misleading. In fact, these Umno leaders are only using this excuse to justify bringing in foreigners to enrich certain cronies.
While many local councils outsource their solid waste management totally to private companies like SWM Environment and E-Idaman in line with the Federal Government’s decision to privatise solid waste management nationally, Penang chose not to follow suit and has been handling solid waste management on its own.
In 2013, MPSP, the local government of mainland Penang, began in stages to stop the outsource of solid waste management services and general cleaning works to private companies that employed thousands of foreigners as their general workers.
By 2014, the process was complete. Currently MPSP manages total solid waste management services in Seberang Perai i.e. from collecting household garbage to its dumping in landfills. MPSP also manages general cleaning works – cleaning of drains, cutting of grass, cleaning of parks etc.
MPSP’s decision to stop the outsourcing of work was the result of a directive by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng in early 2013 to reduce the state’s reliance on foreign labour in government services.
With the end of outsourcing, 2000 jobs were created for Malaysians. Contrary to the popular belief that locals did not want these jobs, about 2000 Malaysians took up these jobs in MPSP. Now, about 3000+ locals are employed by MPSP to do jobs categorised as 3D. Because of the Public Service Department’s strict regulations for hiring, most of these workers are hired on a contract basis, yet enjoy the benefit of permanent staff.
Every time we conduct interviews for general workers in MPSP, we have thousands of people attending. We can invite Zahid or Khairy for the next interview to witness the huge turnout.
Hence the real motive behind bringing in 1.5 million Bangladeshis into Malaysia, is only known to those in Putrajaya, as it is evident locals do not shun these jobs as long as they are paid fairly. Most employers choose to employ foreigners, not because these workers are willing to take up these jobs but because they are a form of cheap labour and to cut operation costs. It does look like the Malaysian government wants only to protect the interests of business people and not the ordinary Malaysian. Being pro-business is not wrong; but being pro-greed is.
Of course, there were financial implications when MPSP employed locals instead. The move meant an increase in council expenses in terms of emoluments but MPSP did not record a deficit. Instead, even after employing about 2000 Malaysians, we have been recording surpluses for the past two financial years. So, it’s not about labour costs alone but about prudent financial management. We can understand if Putrajaya does not understand what prudent financial management is but it should not allow corporate capitalists to manipulate the labour market by employing foreigners who are paid small salaries.
The government is saying Bangladeshi workers will only be allowed to work in certain sectors such as in plantations, construction and services but in reality they will be allowed to work anywhere as there will be no strict enforcement on these rules. Just pay a visit to five 7-Eleven convenient stores and count the number of Malaysians working there compared to the number of foreigners, especially Bangladeshis. The government has never and will never be serious about enforcement.
In conclusion, we have evidence at hand at MPSP that Malaysians are not choosy about jobs as claimed by Zahid and Khairy. We also invite them to drop-by at Seberang Perai and see how many Malaysians are holding jobs considered dirty, difficult and dangerous.
Satees Muniandy is the Councillor of Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP).
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 provider.