Be ‘gracious hosts’ instead of insulting foreign workers, minister tells Malaysians

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 18 — Malaysians should not be belittle the contributions of foreigners who come to work here legally or insult them with unsubstantiated claims, a federal minister said today.

Culture and Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said that Malaysians should instead be “gracious hosts” as foreign workers often take up jobs that locals do not want.

“Do not undermine contribution of workers towards our economy.

“We need them so let’s be gracious hosts to them, there are some of the jobs which are not taken by Malaysians which will be picked up by migrant workers,” he said at a news conference here.

Nazri was responding to claims by local NGOs that the proposed intake of 1.5 million Bangladeshis into the country would open the floodgates to terrorism and rape.

The Padang Rengas MP chided the “un-Malaysian” behaviour, saying that the workers were no different than any other people in search of employment.

He explained that the 1.5 million Bangladeshis was a figure offered by the Bangladesh government, and that it did not mean that all of the workers would be brought in to Malaysia.

“The 1.5 million is the number of skilled trained Bangladeshi workers their government announced are available to be brought in not just to Malaysia but to any country wanting their services,” the minister said.

At a press conference yesterday, Pertubuhan Rapat Malaysia (Rapat) president A. Rajaretinam claimed the influx of migrant workers here was a major threat to national security and health, and that these foreigners could promote terror activities like the Islamic State (IS).

The coalition of non-government organisations also warned of dire socio-economic repercussions, including a spike in terror activities, rape cases and loss of business opportunities for locals.

Later, the same view was repeated by the Malay Consultative Council (MPM), another coalition that is said to represent over 50 Malay-Muslim NGOs.

At MPM’s press conference, the group’s secretary-general Datuk Dr Hasan Mad alleged that some foreign workers bring with them new diseases, which he warned could spread to locals during their term of employment in Malaysia.

Putrajaya’s planned intake of 1.5 million Bangladeshis has met stiff opposition from both workers groups and industry players here.

Despite the protest, the government has insisted that the move was necessary to fill a void in industries seen as dirty, dangerous and difficult, namely in the plantation, manufacturing, construction, and cleaning service sectors.

Businesses, manufacturers and developers have also called on the government to utilise the undocumented migrant workforce by extending their visas instead of bringing in more workers.