MALAYSIA MUST MAKE BOLDER APROACH TO REDUCE FOREIGN WORKERS

IPOH (Malaysia), March 7 (Bernama) -- The present global economic crisis
is the best time for Malaysia to take a bolder approach to reduce the 2.5
million
foreign workers in the country, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's
Department S.K Devamany.

He said the government should introduce a more serious policy to reduce the
country's dependency on foreign workers and not taken in by demands from
employers only interested in maximising profits.

"Now is the best time to take advantage of the global economic crisis by
modifying our policy on the intake of foreign workers. We must not be happy for
a short time but suffer for a century," he told reporters after opening the
Evertronics Skills Development Centre convocation here Saturday.

Ipoh is the capital city of northern Perak state in Peninsular Malaysia.

He said to ensure that foreign workers be reduced to 1.8 million next year,
the government needs to plug information leakages and weed out corruption.

"How can foreigners easily enter Malaysia? I hope the recently established
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will play its role to safeguard
national interest with a more serious and stringent enforcement."

He said Malaysia's salary structure should also be reviewed as it has
stagnated for two decades, not good for a country seeking developed nation
status by 2020.

The deputy minister added with the economic crisis, manufacturers should opt
for more automation as it was the only way for local industries to compete in
the global market.

-- BERNAMA