Singapore Labour Ban: Are We Acting Like Shameless Kids?

The Star 13 Sept 2012

It seems like we are kicking up a big fuss over Singapore banning Sabah and Sarawak male workers below 35 years of age from working in the republic because many of these workers were said to be causing a lot of trouble there.

This is more than a little unfunny and hypocritical of us.

When we imposed a blanket ban in 2007 on Bangladesh workers from working in Malaysia, nobody were gunning for our jugular, nobody were constantly asking Malaysia to lift the ban or to give a explanation for our action.

Now that Singapore has banned Sabah and Sarawak male workers below 35 years of age from working  in the republic, we are daily making a big fuss over the whole thing, demanding for the ban to be lifted or an explanation to be given.

I am a Malaysian, but I want to say that no country owes another country's citizens a living. It is our duty to look after our own citizens and provide them with jobs. Are we failing in this respect?

We have so many foreigner workers here, a large number of whom are not even here legally, but we can't provide jobs to our own citizens and we are trying to bark at the island republic to lift the ban or justify their action?

Come on, is the Barsian administration failing us all and acting like hypocrites? Are they trying to divert attention from their own failure to look after our own citizens?

If we want Singapore to lift the ban, the onus is on us to show that our workers are good workers and not trouble makers.

We can't constantly bark at the island republic for our own failure.