Zahid’s kin eyes system for 1.5m Bangladeshis

 Pemerhati: Malaysia has a lot of illegal immigrants and refugees. Their numbers could well be around 1.5 million or higher.

If there is a real need for 1.5 million workers then it would be much cheaper and make more sense to legalise all the illegal workers from Bangladesh and other countries and the refugees from Myanmar and elsewhere and then employ them legally.

The reason why Umno is not interested in such a simple, cheap and obvious solution is because then they and organisations like Real Time Networking Sdn Bhd would not have the opportunity to make easy millions by importing workers.

The Umno leaders are constantly on the lookout for schemes where they can make easy money, such as the outrageous ‘Patriot’ number plate scheme.

This arbitrary plan to bring in a whopping 1.5 million Bangladeshis without a thorough and proper debate on the whole issue is outrageous and shocking.

Anonymous #21828131: Indeed, such schemes which rake in a lot of money and introduced at the whims and fancy of the home minister or prime minister which can upset the country’s workforce, jeopardise the safety and health of its citizens and create negative effects to the socio-economic fabric of Malaysia should be debated in Parliament before a decision is made.

We have not learnt a single lesson from the current 1MDB crisis, which is partly chiefly caused by the PM himself. Now his newly-minted deputy, hardly two weeks into the job, is already showing his arrogance.

Vent: DPM’s brother Abdul Hakim Hamidi is right. The government is “only monitoring” to ensure that he gets the contract. It is also very concerned that the brother of the DPM will otherwise be jobless as his company was only incorporated in March this year.

What is even worse he may end up as a drug pusher which will be disastrous for the DPM’s already battered image.

What more do 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers want? Where in the world is there such an opportunity to become citizens of a land of endless possibilities?

Prudent: I am all for innovation and competition. Let the service, i.e. the processing of foreign labour recruitment, be open to bids by competitive systems and proposals.

DPM Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s brother’s proposals may not be, and unlikely to be, the most efficient and competitive. Abdul Hakim is proposing a monopoly for himself.

Let the service be awarded to at least three service providers and let them compete among themselves. And let the bids be considered by an independent committee.

Zahid especially should keep out of this if he cherishes his chances of succeeding Najib as PM. The rakyat are already getting very sick and tired of any hint of corruption.

Odin Tajué: I checked out www.cheapflights.com.my just seconds ago. I keyed in Aug 19 (one week from today) as departure date from Dhaka Zia to KLIA. The one-way fare for one adult on an economy flight is at RM419.

Let’s add RM300 for ancillary expenses. That’s RM719 in total. But we’ll be generous and round that off to RM800. That means for each Bangladeshi worker brought in, there is RM2,200 to be made (Real Time Networking is proposing to charge RM3,000 per worker).

RM2,200 x 1.5 million = RM3,300,000,000. That is RM3.3 billion. Of course, this is gross. We need to be fair and deduct other overheads.

And, people, we also ought not to cast aspersions on the home minister by insinuating of him practising nepotism, cronyism or any similar dishonest practices.

After all, government business or contracts have always been awarded to relatives and friends of the politicians in the government through completely transparent, open tender.

And if these people have been successful, it is only due to their competitive prices and proven expertise in their particular area of business activity.

Just take a look at all the projects awarded to people in or related to the politicians in the government; they have all been completed on time, or even early, and the high quality of the products delivered or workmanship rendered has always been unquestionable.

Tailek: Why is it we need 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia? Can the current migrant workers here not able to do the job. We are already inundated with Indonesians.

Malaysia is going to be a land of migrants soon. You think Abdul Hakim will get the contract if he is not Zahid’s brother. Nepotism is entrenched in Umno’s DNA.

Magnus: Yes, I can’t understand why Malaysia would have to bring in foreign labour unless there was no available local supply or skills.

So are local businesses exploiting cheap foreign labour to depress local wages so they can pay less and earn higher profits? Or do these foreign workers work under the same conditions of pay and benefits as Malaysians do for doing the same work?

Anonymous #33227154: Regardless, there is still a serious conflict of interest. If Abdul Hakim is good, he doesn’t need to rely on his brother. This principle applies to friends and relatives of all politicians as well.

Politicians are appointed by the people and they must not use their power to benefit their friends and relatives. I can’t imagine America allowing US President Barack Obama’s wife to sell tanks to the US army.

Legit: Only in Malaysia such blatant corruption, nepotism and abuse of power is openly practiced with impunity.

Anyway, is the government of sound mind bringing in this many foreign workers without any consideration for the local workforce, the evils of all kind of health and social problems and so on?

I do not believe the government agencies such as the Immigration Department and Department of Labour are agreeable to this kind of foreign worker influx into the country.

Malaysia is supposed to be heading towards a high wage, high skilled and high technology country and not a place for cheap labour and low skilled industries.

The opposition parties and the various NGOs should demand a stop this insanity immediately before this country is being flooded with unwanted low skilled foreigners.

Whatsup: A win-win situation – brother makes billions and possibly new instant voters. Make hay while the sun shines is best to describe the situation.

Despite the 1MDB scandal, it looks like business as usual for the Umno government.

Clearwater: Yo, brother Zahid, can I get a letter of commendation from you to assist in my bid for the project? You are reputed to be a great letter writer.

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