I have been reading in malaysiakini , comments concerning the behaviour of Indonesian workers in our country. We have tolerated them for far too long. We have exercised patience out of respect for the government and the good people of Indonesia. Now, the time to say enough is enough has come.

Therefore, I thank our prime minister and compliment the government on the stern actions that have been taken to deal with the problem of Indonesian guest workers in our country.

Yes, these Indonesians are guest workers, and we welcome them not without conditions: They are in our country at our pleasure, and subject to good behaviour and must respect our law.

If they do not respect our public and private properties, our lives and the rule of Malaysian law, they must face the full weight of our wrath, and our law. There should be no compromise and there can be no room for negotiations for bad and irresponsible conduct.

We know the guest worker issue is a complex one and requires a long-term solution by all parties involved. Let us start with our private sector.

All Malaysian employers should not take the easy way out. They ought to rely less on foreign workers as a source of cheap labour. Make this your strategic objective and work from there.

Recognise the fact that our country is now a high-wage economy. This means that industries requiring cheap labour must be eliminated, or moved to other countries where cheap and low-skilled labour is abundant.

We cannot continue to rely on labour-intensive industries, where low-cost labour is a form of subsidy, without which some of our industries cannot survive. We have to learn to compete differently in the global economy, using technology and skilled labour or knowledge workers.

So the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers and the industry associations ought to start improving productivity, and take advantage of government incentives, already in place, to reinvest so that our economy will rely less on cheap foreign labour.

If you cannot do that, stop asking the government and the ordinary taxpayer for more incentives year in and year out at the budget dialogue sessions with the finance and international trade and industry ministers.

Our industry captains should use their heads more than their mouths. Talk is cheap. Cheap labour does not come without a cost to us and incentives from the government are not free.

Just look at our construction industry. We still rely on old methods of construction and low quality foreign labour. Profit at the expense of quality and value for money is not a mark of success.

In my view, quality, value for money and profit are in the same equation. These are the imperatives of good business.

In the short term, and in so far as the Indonesian workers are concerned, Indonesia must do more in terms of its responsibility towards its own people. Do not take the easy way out by passing the buck to the Malaysian government and the people of Malaysia.

The Indonesian foreign minister's so-called apology is not good enough. We deserve more as we have done a lot for Indonesia as their neighbour. The time has come for Indonesia to respect our concerns.

The time has also come for Indonesia to get its economic house in order and create jobs for its people, though it may need time to sort its domestic affairs.

In the meantime, Indonesia should at least make sure that it does not export troublemakers and dissidents here and it can do this by tightening screening and monitoring procedures.

After all, the repatriated earnings of its workers are a source of its much-needed foreign exchange. It is in its self-interest to act.

If Indonesia continues to adopt the easy option, it must face the consequences of stern measures which will be taken against its people who break the law in Malaysia.