The failure to deal with illegal foreign workers in the past had led to problems in managing the Covid-19 pandemic among foreign workers and undocumented migrants, which had led to a spate of xenophobia, he was quoted as saying.

An estimated 2 – 4 million undocumented migrant workers are believed to be in Malaysia.

Daim chaired the Council of Eminent Persons which was appointed by PH prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 2018.

He was quoted by Malaysiakini as saying in a prepared written interview that he had personally written to Mahathir with several recommendations.

“These proposals would not only have seen a proper exercise to legalise and repatriate illegals but would have also led to a more sustainable foreign worker policy. Instead, they were hijacked by the vested interests,” he said according to the interview.

“As a result, the proposals were ignored and another (Pakatan Harapan) manifesto promise was left unfulfilled.”

He said Malaysian officials were unable to carry out contact tracing of Covid-19 patients among foreign workers and migrants, and lacked clear knowledge of their numbers and whereabouts.

The sudden arrests of foreigners during Covid-19 operations and reported cases of infections among them, “have not only led to increased xenophobia in the country but also increased reluctance to come forward for voluntary repatriation,” he said.

It had caused Malaysians to believe that Covid-19 is rampant among foreigners, which had led to distrust, abuse and fear of all foreign workers. Businesses had been affected and construction projects had been left idle.

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