HUMAN Resources Minister Datuk Seri S. Saravanan’s assertion that migrant workers are not allowed to enter the country until December 31 is a timely reminder that we are not out of the woods where the Covid-19 pandemic is concerned.
Despite Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob revealing that 80% of the adult population has been vaccinated, coronavirus variants have been evolving, and it is feared that these new strains could be spread by non-citizens who may have been exposed and infected in their own countries.
This is why the government should take a more holistic look with regard to allowing migrant workers to return to Malaysia.
Various news reports have put job losses at between 150,000 and 400,000 since the pandemic began. These are Malaysian jobs that have been lost, and the rehabilitation of the economy and opening up of more employment opportunities should prioritise Malaysians.
While the human resources minister in a September 20 Bernama report referred to maids as among those yet to be allowed to return to or enter the country, there is one industry in which the government can review the need for migrant workers.
In 1997, the government introduced self-service petrol stations to address the overdependence on migrant workers.
Despite this policy having been in place for 24 years, how often have we seen motorists pulling up into a petrol station to be greeted by a migrant worker asking what type of fuel we want, how much we want, and if we are using cash or credit card? And then, proceeds to pump in the fuel for you?
This goes against the common-sense understanding of “self-service”.
With a pandemic that is still far from being under control, we need to minimise our physical interactions with others, whether locals or non-citizens.
In the meantime, with regard to the economy, which has been battered by the pandemic, one would not be out of place to ask if jobs traditionally reserved for non-citizens could be opened up to locals.
Even the counters at petrol stations are mostly manned by non-citizens.
While one cannot ignore the fact that the country, in the last 25 years or so, was built on the backs of migrant workers, perhaps, the time is now ripe to give preference to locals.
With reports suggesting that the pandemic has raised our B40 group to B60, or even B80, Malaysians who might have at one time been too choosy when it comes to picking a job, could be ready to reconsider their options.
With jobs getting scarce, perhaps, economic sectors that at one time gravitated more towards hiring non-citizens may now need to look at a workforce comprising locals.
Obviously, companies would prefer to hire migrant workers as their wages are lower and there are no regulatory payments.
But with a pandemic that is also seeing clusters and variants detected in migrant workers’ living quarters, perhaps the government can introduce a policy that kills two birds with one stone – controlling the spread of the virus, while providing more employment opportunities to locals.
Perhaps, it can start with petrol stations by implementing what the government decided almost a quarter-century ago. – The Vibes, September 22, 2021
Baharuddin Mohd Isa reads The Vibes
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