Mohd Fawzi has missed the wood for the trees in arguing why Sarawak should control entry of peninsula residents into the state ('S'wak must keep immigration control', Nov 5).

The peninsula has been for some time experiencing labour shortage and in spite of the recession it still has a sizeable imported labour. Whatever movement of labour between states are part of structural adjustments, with different states (not only Sabah and Sarawak) requiring different sorts of labour.

That so many teachers are sent to Sabah and Sarawak is the result of rapid educational development there. Yet ask any recent graduates of teachers colleges from the peninsula if they would volunteer to go to Sabah and Sarawak, the answer is likely to be a definite "no".

Of course, those who have served there for more than a decade are likely to have married the locals and would want to remain there, which should be good for national integration.

The senior personnel at the federal office in any state will never be other than a federal officer, but he or she could be recruited from any state.

In the peninsula we are not so insular, such that many state secretaries originated from other states.

There is no reason why Sarawakians cannot serve in the federal service. Of course the federal service is less attractive than the Sarawak civil service simply because of the size of the bureaucracy which makes promotion slower. The Sarawakians who had served their time have risen to senior positions in the federal service, like the current deputy inspector-general of police.

Even better, Ibrahim Menudin bypassed all the seniors in MMC Bhd to assume the position of managing director.

There are also so many lawyers and judges from Sabah and Sarawak serving in the peninsula.

The writer's attitude is typical of a Sarawakian politician who is keen to insulate and entrench his hold on power and the resulting monopoly on economic power; hence, the need for immigration control.

Imagine the many mega-projects that cannot be economically justified but has to be blamed on the federal government and peninsula residents, like universities that are filled mostly with students from the peninsula. This is obviously very costly to the taxpayers, but without students from the peninsula, the colleges will be almost empty.