Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s argument that Malaysians shun ‘3D’ (dirty, difficult and dangerous) jobs is totally flawed. Thousands of Malaysians are working in the so-called ‘3D’ jobs in Singapore and in restaurants, etc in Australia, US, UK, Canada and Europe.

Why have they left home and family to work, some illegally, in a foreign country? Because they are paid reasonable wages to enjoy a reasonable standard of living in those high cost-of-living countries.

Agreed, Malaysian employers cannot pay the amounts Singapore and Western country employers pay, but Malaysians do not expect such comparatively high wages. Otherwise, most in Malaysia would have headed to Singapore, etc to work.

What Malaysians, in general, want are decent wages to enjoy a decent life in their own country. This they are being denied because the employers have a partner, the government, ready to bring in cheap foreign labor without study or concern for the words or welfare of the working-class citizens.

The odd thing is that the government claims to be headed towards First World status but explicitly denies its own citizens a decent standard of living via reasonable minimum wages pegged to cost-of-living.

Another ridiculous thing is that while the government openly extols and seemingly aspires for Malaysia to be a knowledge/technology based economy, it is doing the exact opposite by perpetuating and entrenching labor-intensive practices in factories, plantations, construction, services and elsewhere.

Why? Because it is the cheap and easy option? Possible. Because that is the short road to wealth for the visible and invisible stakeholders? Likely. Or is there also another agenda, political?