COMMENT I share the view of a renowned professor who said bringing cheap labour into the country is a disservice to the nation.

Although I would like to quote him directly, it is best that people should find out themselves when the publication is eventually released.

He has some very interesting comments he made which are largely beneficial for the country, if people take his words seriously. One of the comments which I think should be shared at this juncture is his recommendation to the Malaysian government to bring in skilled professionals instead of unskilled labour.

What is the rationale?

With 1.5 million Bangladeshis soon to be entering Malaysia, if Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has his way, I wonder how they would benefit the country’s economy.

Already trapped in the middle income since 1994, most Malaysians find it hard to move up the income ladder. The lower income group is still trying to make ends meet with a minimum wage of RM900 per month.

With these Bangladeshis coming in, we are basically compounding our problems. Because they can be hired at low wages, this automatically depress the wages of the local blue collar employees.

In fact, it has taken so long and so much efforts for the government to raise the minimum wages by RM100. This clearly shows that the Barisan Nasional government has forgotten the plight of the poor in our midst.

One-and-a-half million Bangladeshis is not a small number of foreigners in our midst. When they are here, they will have to either live in squatter homes or low-cost houses. This puts a squeeze on the lower income group who find it hard to even purchase or rent a low-cost apartment.

My point is, there is really no reason why Zahid should be allowed to bring in 1.5 million Bangladeshis. This is on top of several million other foreign workers, whether legal or illegal, who are already working in our country. A number of them are unemployed.

In fact, if the investors need cheap labour, they can of course set up their factories in these countries and hire Malaysians to supervise them. Why should we still bring in cheap labour and pay them for their productivity or lack of it, when the money will ultimately be channeled back to their countries of origin?

While we may want to help impoverished Bangladesh, this is not a solution to our own domestic problems. There are better ways to help the Bangladeshis such as donating part of the RM2.6 billion to provide scholarships in our local tertiary institutions to the Bangladeshis themselves, similar to what was created and became known as the Rhodes’ scholarship.

Meanwhile to overcome the middle income trap, the government of the day should move people up the income level, not to further suppress the lower income group with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the competition for who is asking for the lower wages.

If Zahid cares to reflect on his decision using just a little wisdom, he should realise that his decision is unsound for the country’s economic development, as Malaysia can no longer compete on the basis of cheap labour.

This is what baffles me when I look at some of our policymakers.

Will they come before GE14?

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has to answer the people’s questions with regards to his deputy’s initiative.

He is solely responsible for whatever happens to the country as it was Najib who appointed Zahid to be his deputy. Whatever Zahid does will reflect on Najib’s own performance.

My question therefore, which I hope our Members of Parliament will pick up, is, will these Bangladeshis come to Malaysia before the next general election?

This is an important question that must also be asked by the Bersih 2.0 steering committee which has, in the past, alleged that there were attempts to use foreigners to rig the election.

Preparations have to be made to ensure that such an ‘invasion’ by foreign workers will not affect the election results. With GE14 just 30 months away, it is time for both the opposition and non-governmental organisations to start preparations instead of waiting till the eleventh hour.

The next general election will be more than exciting since there are simply too many issues that do not favour the Barisan government - one of which is none other than the 1MDB, whose debts, if going by DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang’s calculations, have ballooned to RM50 billion.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political development in the country since 2008.