The recent highlights on cases involving the sheer exploitation of migrant workers here is a shame that the country can ill afford under prevailing circumstances.

Increasingly we read about how Malaysian employers and recruiting agents are treating foreign workers. The fate suffered by these helpless workers is indeed shocking. While the government is working very hard to promote the good image of the country globally in an attempt to attract foreign investment and the precious tourist dollar, back home we continue to witness how greedy agents and employers are paying scant attention to collaborate in building the nation's economy.

Meanwhile the authorities seem so helpless in the fight.

In 2004, the government spent RM9.4 million to upkeep prisons that had to house large numbers of illegal immigrants. As at August 2005, there were some 9,000 inmates.

The amnesty offer between late 2004 and early 2005, saw the government mobilise a large number of the civil service to deport 400,000 illegal immigrants.

We had to make provisions for 10 detention centres and 52 prisons while it is estimated that some 800,000 illegal immigrants are still around on the loose.

As a result of the massive deportation exercise, the agricultural sector reported a loss of RM170 million.

Illegal labour is also blamed for unpaid hospital bills amounting to RM11.4 million which ultimately the taxpaying citizens would have absorbed.

It is reported that in 2004 there was a 6.9 percent increase in violent crimes compared to 6.4 percent in 2003.

Not to mention, the last count of stateless children in Sabah added up to 10,000.

And if all of the above problems, which are rooted in employers cashing in on cheap labour and agents chasing easy money, is not bad enough for the country, we continue to see the sheer cruelty dished out on legal workers. The endless list of exploitation includes amongst others: not paying workers their dues; going all out to delay court cases involving charges of exploitation; short-changing migrant legal workers with shoddy living conditions; and inhuman treatment with long working hours.

As in the words of Henry Kissinger, 'An issue ignored is a crisis ensured', it certainly appears we are heading for another national image disaster. The continuing shoddy treatment of our legal migrant workers will earn us a tarnished reputation as the world media picks up the reports of gross and uncontrolled abuse of foreign workers and total disregard for basic human dignity. At the macro level it could lead to strained relationships with governments that send their nationals here to meet our demand for foreign workers.

It is time that the authorities took stock of the magnitude of the problems. There is no need to carry out expensive studies. Unannounced visits to all the workers quarters and workstations and past statistics and reports will suffice to gain a fair picture of the sordid state of affairs.

The Human Resource Ministry must get its officers on the ground and get tough with locals who are breaking the law or taking advantage of the system.

The Immigration Department must put the brakes on the exploits of cruel employers and review and correct all policies that work against exploited workers.

The authorities must pay serious attention to problems highlighted by legal migrant workers and come up with creative solutions that will provide avenues to protect complainants.

Redress must be seen to be forthcoming with great speed. Severe punishment for exploiters and quick justice and unencumbered assistance and protection for the exploited must be benchmark.

We must act fast if we want to have some saving grace. Surely we will not want to enter the Book of Records as the worst of nations for exploitation of cheap labour.