THE CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF THE ISSUE OF FOREIGN WORKERS

The National Immigration Department's data from 2018 shows that 1.73 million foreign employees were legally employed in Malaysia.The remainder came from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, and Indonesia, which made up the bulk. The Department of Statistics estimates that 3.3 million foreigners have settled in Malaysia overall.

In November 2019, Murray Hunter wrote an essay titled "Malaysia's Massive Foreign Worker Dependency" that stated there were 2.5 million to 3.3 million unauthorised workers in Malaysia. The statistic is quite concerning when compared to Malaysia's 32 million people, which puts the proportion of foreigners at 5 to 6 million or 15%.

Although the entry of foreign workers into Malaysia helps the country's economy and development, it is impossible to ignore the detrimental effects on the populace and the nation, the problems with foreign workers had arisen a negative image to the nation.

The fact that the majority of foreign employees with expired visas opted to continue working here illegally is one of the factors contributing to the high number of foreigners. Some people have even opened grocery stores, roadside booths, or even market stalls as their place of business. The expansion of foreign employees overstaying has also been aided by some locals' 'Ali Baba' practises.

It has been suggested that one of the reasons we are confronting this difficulty is the mindset of "our own people"! Our nation has about 1.5 million foreign workers in the construction industry. It appears that the majority of Malaysians do not wish to work in this industry, particularly given the low level of workplace comfort, the inadequate pay, and the perception of such labour as "lacking in class."

Because of this, firms are compelled to hire foreign employees, particularly those from Bangladesh and Indonesia. The majority of these foreign workers have extremely high levels of resilience, can function well under stress, and are consistently willing to work longer hours for lower pay. The majority of them would have previous experience working on building projects, giving great experience and expertise.

Particularly in times of economic hardship, the issue of the nation's high immigration rates may result in a sharp rise in crime rates. This will unavoidably occur if foreign nationals become unemployed and lack the necessary cash to support themselves. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the number of crimes involving foreigners from 2016 to August 2019 was 42,451 incidents, as reported in the media. The Ministry had also noted that there had been a total of 12,647 theft cases, 11,862 burglary cases, and 4,822 motorbike theft cases. The Royal Malaysian Police's efforts did, however, result in a decrease in the total crime index involving foreigners from 13,110 cases in 2016 to 11,441 in 2017 and 10,751 in 2018.

The problem of immigrant workers and their employers is another factor contributing to the rise of COVID-19 positive instances. One of the main factors in the Selangor case where the employer disregarded the rights and welfare of foreign workers. They were confined to filthy, small, and poorly equipped areas. Furthermore, the recent public concerns regarding the alleged labour exploitation by the Foreign Workers Centralized Management System (FWCMS) are undoubtedly not helpful.

Locals should be given preference to fill any "vacancy" in the job sector at a time when the country is experiencing economic hardships, including layoffs. With so many people out of job and losing their source of income, it is possible that more locals will be eager to work in fields that were formerly dominated by foreigners. Instead of harping on Malaysians being "choosy," the focus right now should be the need for a reasonable income.