The home affairs minister's recent comments on the need to control the movement of foreign workers as a way of dealing with crimes purportedly committed by foreign workers is disturbing, to say the least.

It is quite unfair of the minister to imply that foreign workers are the cause of much of the crime in Malaysia. Even if it is true that a significant proportion of crimes in the country can be attributed to foreigners (a proposition which is difficult to accept), surely the good minister will know that there is a big difference between foreigners in general and the documented, hard- working foreign workers who keep our economy going.

The bulk of foreign workers that one encounters are too busy working themselves to the bone at jobs that are too dirty, degrading or dangerous for Malaysians to do. They earn a pittance to send home, often after paying exorbitant levies and bribes to the powers-that-be in our country.

Judging from reports in the mass media about crimes committed by foreigners, I would suggest that most of them can be attributed to foreigners who slip in and out of the country exclusively for that purpose. It is simply unjust to tar the industrious maid at home or the construction worker down the road or the waiter at the mamak stall, with the same brush.

It is not suggested that documented foreign workers do not commit crimes; some of them do, just as some of our fellow countrymen also commit crimes. What is disturbing is the alacrity with which we devise rules and regulations which demean foreign workers, treating them as lesser humans.

Considering the reputation for credit card forgeries, (football) match fixing and drug running that some Malaysians have created abroad, would it acceptable if all Malaysians working abroad are viewed with the same suspicion and subjected to all kinds of restrictions?

Why should a worker have to obtain permission from his or her employer to leave his or her place of work after working hours and account for his or her movements to the employer? Quite apart from the fact that such regulations smack of slavery, their practicability is questionable. Can one imagine a worker signing out of his 'kongsi' at 3am and reporting back at 5am after committing a robbery? And what would he state as his reason for going out? 'Merompak rumah ketua polis'?

Expecting employers to be accountable for the conduct of their foreign workers simply does not make sense. By the same token, would the home minister want to be accountable for the conduct of all staff of the Home Ministry after working hours?

Let us be reasonable and treat our guest workers with some respect. The vast majority of them are hard-working and only want to be left alone to earn a living. They make our lives far more comfortable than we often deserve. If there are deviants among them - as surely there will be - there are sufficient laws in our country to deal with them.

At the same time, let us get serious about rooting out the miscreants within our own society who cheat, exploit and thrive on the blood and sweat of foreigners - often with the connivance of the authorities.