Published on: Sunday, July 27, 2008 |
He said some quarters were purposely being sceptical and even accused the government of merely performing lip service on the issue.
"Is spending RM50 million on this exercise just lip service? This is a serious matter. The State and Federal governments are both committed to tackling the problem," he said during a dialogue with chambers of commerce, NGOs including representatives from planters associations and the construction industry at the Federal Building Saturday.
Musa, who is also State Security Chairman, said this commitment was clearly demonstrated by the fact that a high powered committee chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister had been set up to overcome the problem in a systematic and coordinated manner.
"This is no ordinary exercise. It involves a lot of planning, manpower and funding."
He said for the exercise to fully achieve its objective, there has to be full cooperation from everyone, not just the relevant government agencies but also the private sector, especially employers of migrant workers.
He also said the Government welcomed the views and feedback from private sector, including request for levy on foreign workers to be reduced.
Musa also said people in Sabah have to accept the fact that the various sectors, especially the plantation and construction sectors, were dependent on foreign workers.
"We want this exercise to be smooth and effective but at the same time we do not want sectors that are labour intensive to be adversely affected due to shortage of workers. We do not want the economic development of the state to be hampered."
He said cooperation from employers in only employing foreign workers with valid documents was crucial in overcoming the problem of illegal immigrants in the state.
"As such, I hope there will be give and take. Don't just expect he government alone to solve this problem. The private sector too has a big role."
Also present were State Secretary Datuk Sukarti Wakiman, Deputy Secretary General of Home Ministry, Datuk Raja Azhar Raja Abdul Manaf, Sabah Federal Secretary Datuk Ismail Wadin and Sabah Immigration Department's director, Datuk Baharom Talib.
