I had a casual chat with a church friend last Sunday, and was pleasantly surprised when he said that Malaysians should ditch our decades-old obsession with race.

“There are more than two million foreign workers in our midst. Like it or not, many of them are here to stay. They are doing the jobs that most Malaysians are disdainful of. What makes us think this country is only for the so-called three races? I think every hardworking and decent foreign worker deserves a place in Malaysia.”

It is indeed unusual to come across an average Christian whose concern over the increasing number of migrant workers in the country is not driven by fear, but genuine compassion. I am proud of this friend who sees things very differently from other Malaysians - Christian or non-Christian alike.

Sometime ago, a church leader expressed his anxiety at the presence of several “illegal” Burmese men among the worshippers, weary that his church could be charged with “harbouring illegal persons” should the authorities find out. I tried to assuage his fear by reminding him of the flight of Mary and Joseph to Egypt, taking infant Jesus with them to escape King Herod’s murderous vow to kill all baby boys.

Yes, the King of Glory that Christendom exalts today was once a refugee in a foreign land, just like those Burmese worshippers in Malaysia.

Blame it on migrant workers

As the next general election draws near, migrant workers have again become a national issue thanks to the mainstream press of all languages that never fails to divert the public’s attention from real challenges. In his recent visits around the country, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is fond to be known as Mr Nice Guy, has reiterated his determination to address the issue of illegal workers in this country. The press often gives him wide coverage plus “in-depth analyses”.

Regrettably, the PM, like the rest of his cabinet colleagues, only loves to talk about local jobs going to foreigners and Malaysia’s losing its competitiveness for being over-dependent on “cheap” migrant workers, as he refuses to hold public inquiries on why licenses have been issued to many irresponsible agents without much scrutiny, resulting in hundreds of thousands of innocent foreign workers of various nationalities being cheated into Malaysia by unscrupulous middlemen.

The PM also does not seem too keen on an investigation into corruption allegations that certain detention camps in the country deported detainees to the Malaysian-Thai border, and then turned a blind eye when these foreigners were again smuggled into Malaysia by agents. Some money must have changed hands. The Mandarin edition of Siasat, produced by ntv7, had an excellent episode on the issue recently.

With the whole thing is shrouded in secrecy and darkness, the Malaysian public has been made to believe it is the foreigners – documented or undocumented – that are responsible for the rising crime rates. When a foreign worker makes headline for criminal activity, the reader is quick to forget the hundreds of thousands of other foreign nationals toiling under the Malaysian sun, often risking their lives. The government and the plantation conglomerates are overjoyed at the surge in the price of palm oil, but very little is mentioned about the Indonesian workers who have made this possible.

All have place under M’sian sun

This is not surprising given that Malaysia is a country steeped in racist ideology, with the Malays eager to preserve their “supremacy”, the Chinese anxious to keep their No 2 position, and the Indians in sorrow over their marginalisation. This extreme racial consciousness is then aggravated by the erroneous assumption that only the three “major” races are qualified for a permanent place in the land, and the presence of anyone else is questionable.

Hence, while the Chinese are disgruntled at being treated as second-class citizens, they are at the same time quick to define foreign workers as “undesirable others”. Much has been written about the grievances of the Indian community in Malaysia, and I have expressed in no uncertain terms my empathy on this. Still, when the Hindraf leaders and their followers yell that foreigner workers are treated better than the Indians, I cannot help being alarmed at the racist overtone.

Do we all have to victimise others to make our voices heard? Such racist rhetoric is best left to Umno and its cohorts in the Barisan Nasional.

It is by now crystal clear that the Abdullah administration is utterly incapable of taking the country forward. In the years ahead, the BN government is likely to be marked increasingly by failures rather than successes, it is all the more imminent that the Malaysian public wises up, which includes a more holistic and mature approach to addressing the migrant workers issue. As 2007 draws to a close, with many issues that have flared up unresolved, emotive language and racial stereotyping can only make things worse.

In this regard, more comprehensive policies and greater transparency at all levels of the government are crucial to ensuring that foreign workers in the country are better protected and their welfare safeguarded, reducing the chances of them being manipulated and oppressed. After all, be it Malays, Indians or Chinese, we all began our humble presence in this country as migrant communities.

We may not have wanted this young country to be indoctrinated in racist ideology over the past 50 years, but we can choose to unshackle ourselves from the negative legacy of racist rule if we truly desire Malaysia to be a country of perpetual and genuine peace and justice. There is a simple step to begin with: start seeing foreign workers as fellow human beings with the ability to cry and to laugh, just like you and me.

Have a blessed New Year.