We should not hide the illegal foreign workers issue. It has already created many unwarranted social problems to our society. Sweeping the rubbish under the carpet would only make the room smell like a skunk!

The issue of unpaid wages, subcontracting claims dispute and exploitative employers and employment agents are very real to illegal workers in our country. Unfortunately, the Malaysian Labour Court has lost its impartial function in defending this working class.

Thus the litigation process to be taken by the Indonesian government is not an overreaction, but just a process to seek justice in the most amicable way to resolve longstanding problems involving illegal Indonesian workers in our country.

It is also a way to discipline our corporate employers to practice what they preach in the name of good corporate governance.

We should not allow the large players in the Malaysian corporate sectors to continue with their unscrupulous practices that aim to exploit illegal foreign workers without any sense of mercy and responsibility.

But the tricky part is in launching a suit on behalf of illegal workers as their presence in Malaysia itself is against the law, so their contract maybe construed as illegal too. Malaysian law does not cater for the recovery of wages for illegal immigrants because they were not recognised under Malaysian law.

And winning the case will be an uphill task as there is no precedent. Because of the Malaysian legal system, employers tend to challenge illegal foreign workers to sue them and avoid paying the rightful monies owed to the workers.

There are 23 cases in Malaysia where Indonesian workers face with death sentence. The cause of the crime is almost similar - wage disputes that led to violence and death.

The government has been too complacent with their comfortable living and our robust economic growth. Malaysia is able to live with a minimum impact of inflation mainly due to the cheap foreign work force.

Their presence suppress wage hikes which contain the inflationary impact to our daily life.

Malaysia should not hide the fact that a significant number of Malaysia employers hired illegals in order to be more competitive in the market place. Employers hire illegal because the process of official hiring is very costly (due to middlemen and corruption) and troublesome (due to red tape).

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahamd Badawi must first recognise that we have a problem. This must be done before a solution to fix it is found. He must also make it be understood that the consequence of labour disputes involving illegal workers is a very serious problem that needs urgent treatment.

We are yet to see if the Abdullah administration will be bold enough to deal with political cronies whose profit and loss accounts are stained with the blood, sweat and tears of foreign workers.