Govt should heed Harris' expert advice, says DAP
Published on: Saturday, January 07, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: Former Chief Minister Tan Sri Harris Salleh, a fierce critic of the opposition DAP during his Berjaya days, came in for rare praise by the party, Thursday, and that it is a pity his views were ignored by the Government.DAP Sabah Kota Kinabalu MP Jimmy Wong said the Government should consider the views of Harris such as on foreign workers as he is knowledgeable on the issue.Referring to Harris' call for the Government to do more to retain and attract foreign workers in the State's plantation sector, Wong noted that Harris had actually voiced it out before.
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Wong concurred with Harris that Indonesian workers were reluctant to come to work in the State because of the lack of educational facilities for their children. "Due to lack of schools for their children, the workers would rather work in Indonesia," he said, besides harsh government action against foreign workers where even documented foreign workers were detained by authorities before being released. He said the government is currently collecting millions of ringgit in foreign worker levy from employers but questioned where the money was going and how it was used by the Government."As such the government should accommodate the concerns about the welfare of the foreign workers.
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"This fund should be used to also assist the bosses and their foreign workers," he said adding that there should be a joint management of the levy funds by the government , foreign workers association and employers to look into the welfare of the foreign workers.Wong also agreed with Harris that there are many government schools that are either empty or grossly underused and urged that foreign workers' children be allowed to enrol in the schools and cited that in Kedah stateless children are now allowed to enrol in government schools.
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On the issue of work permits Wong said the government should also look into the issue of foreign workers' work permits taking too long to be approved which was a waste of time for employers.He also suggested that a mobile action committee made up of respective parties from both sides (relevant government agencies such as immigration and employers ) be set up to look into the matter. Harris told the Daily Express (Dec 26) that Sabah would suffer a major blow if the Indonesian workers were to return home.Referring to the contributions of Indonesian workers to the State's and national economy, Harris had said it is certain that these workers would leave for home if certain things that are not in their favour like the levy and education for their children while in Sabah.In this regard, he said, it may be necessary to allow their children to attend public schools if Sabah does not want to see billions of ringgit worth of oil palm fruits rotting away on the ground for lack of workers.Harris noted that the 200-odd Indonesian schools in Sabah are already full to the brink. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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