I was indeed touched by the concern of Muslim Student (England) in the letter No way to treat foreign workers . I presume the writer is living in England, so must have gotten a wrong picture of the situation.

I am a Malaysian studying in Jakarta for the last five years and go home to Malaysia only for the semester breaks.

Indonesians have been going to Malaysia in droves in the last two decades. They were welcomed by our government even though some of them did not respect Malaysian law. It is true then that they were needed because of the fast economic growth.

As we now face an economic crisis, they are becoming a burden. The crime rate has increased to an alarming rate and is causing discomfort among the locals — and even among our law enforcers.

Despite all these while, I think Malaysia has been handling the situation quite humanely. We have been doing them a favour by allowing them to work and live on our shores under better conditions than in their homeland. Now, Malaysia is even funding their departure back to Indonesia.

It is time that Indonesia takes more responsibility for their own people by improving the economy and social system. I am glad that the government under President Megawati Sukarno has planned a trip to Malaysia to tackle this issue.

Nevertheless, Indonesians who still wish to work in Malaysia can still do so provided they have the proper papers. It is not fair to conclude that Malaysia did not show any respect for these workers.

I hope these issues could be resolved in a peaceful way, as I personally know the misery faced by the poor local Indonesians whose income earned in Malaysia have brought new expectations for their families.

As a student, I often feel the backlash from my Indonesian lecturers and colleagues over the matter. I do sympathise with them, not always totally, but we must always adapt to the changing environment and situation.

Like it or not, this is how the world works. It is just the same thing with our economic policies.