It is indeed baffling that all the enforcement agencies of the Malaysian government seem to know that there are thousands of illegal immigrants in Malaysia, and, by their own admission, have tacitly allowed these people to 'stay' and 'work' in this country.
This means that many employers have deliberately employed illegal immigrants, flouting the laws of the nation. If so many of the illegal immigrants have been allowed to be here, why then are some unfortunate ones prosecuted in the courts for overstaying and for not having valid documents?
Was it due to some discriminatory or discretionary considerations? Is there a tacit understanding that these illegal immigrants are needed in some of our industries? Such a consideration surely allows exploitation of these illegal immigrants by the employers and if so, isn't the national leadership a party to this?
Looking at the number of employers prosecuted for employing illegal workers, a silent approval seems to be present. If this is so, what guarantee is there that such a situation will not arise in the future? What is the idea of having laws if we are unable to enforce them?
The recent amnesty announced by our government may be to maintain the good ties with neighbouring countries, as their nationals would be affected if the laws were enforced here. But there are already cartoons in our media suggesting that these people may find their way back here sooner rather than later.
And employers may be hoping for that to happen too. An expensive drama alright, even if we look only at the social problems that crop up through these illegal workers.
It we do not have the courage and resolve to enforce the present laws of the nation then we must endeavour to change them to suit our needs.
Otherwise, we will be practicing double standards - enforcing the law on some people, while conveniently leaving the others alone. It does not auger well for a nation that professes the Rukunnegara which has as one of its cardinal principles - Kedaulatan undang-undang (the supreme rule of law).
