I refer to the letter Don't let Indon workers back in . I wish to raise two points for public discussion.

One, although Indonesian workers are undesirable from the point of view of national security should a war occur, we must also recognise their positive contribution to the economic growth of Malaysia.

Without them, there would have been no Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and the KLCC. Whether these brick-and-cement structures are white elephants is a separate subject for discussion.

Two, while I agree that Indonesian workers could become a 'fifth column' , I cannot agree with the writer that workers from Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Philippines are better as far as our national security is concerned.

For example, bilateral relations between Malaysia and Thailand are not always good as Malaysia is seen in Bangkok as giving moral support to the Muslim separatists in southern Thailand. And the Philippines still has not renounced its territorial claim on Sabah .

The problem with the 'fifth column', therefore may not only involve the Indonesians.