The legalisation and amnesty (6P) program which ended on April 10 only achieved a Grade C mark. Sorry to say, it didn't meet the purpose and I wonder whether the people involved realise that it brought about more problem than solution.
Prime Minister Najib may have given Home Minister Hishammuddin a pat on the shoulder for that 'success' but I personally believe Najib, or even Hisham, didn't know the actual situation on the ground. They are too high above it. Similarly, they also don't know many things brewing at Umno grass root level.
Deputy premier Muhyiddin who heads the Cabinet Committee on Foreign Workers did not make any statement on 6P on the assumption that it was a grand success. Or he was happy enough that NERS had done an excellent job in providing the equipment for that program. By the way, who are the people behind NERS?
The main objective of the 6P is to set up a data bank about the number of foreign workers - both legal and not - in the country. Introduced on the pretext of 'beefing up the security', the implementation was an over-zealous; the original recommendation which was agreed upon didn't really tag along.
With so many cooks spoiling the soup, the Home Ministry appointed about 300 agents to help out with the registration at RM50 (registration) and RM300 (legalisation) - it ended up with most of the agents incurred heavy losses when the ministry suddenly announced that the foreigners could register for free at any immigration office.
Agents who had fork out between RM100,000 and RM300,000 to rent NERS equipment were taken aback and disappointed. Some had to close shop while many had to be satisfied with only a few 'customers'. Appointed by KDN and preyed on.
I don't understand why the whole period of August 2011 was chosen for registration. It was fasting month and most of the foreigners, especially from Indonesia were either back in their homeland of needed the money for Hari Raya. And I heard people at the ministry making remarks that did not reflect Malaysia as a friendly workplace. We treated them like criminals.
In Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Emirates, the registration process took between three and six months to complete. As we play host to more than 4 million foreign workers, six months should be considered.
But we are so excited to 'flush them out' on security reason. What is the threat, anyway? Out of that 4 million, how many are involved in crimes and subversive? Is it fair to call immigration offenders as a threat to national security?
The threat comes from inside. We should take a look at some cult groups, the Shiite sect, drug dwellers, money launderers, black money, graft involving VIPs and senior government officials, the propagators of racial hatred, etc as the main threats to our national security, most of which involve our own people.
Some of the 4 million foreign workers have been here for decades - married to locals, have kids who are not recognised as citizens of Malaysia and neither as citizens in the fathers' homeland. What has and is the Home Ministry doing about it? Flush them out too?
If we are so easy in giving out PR and citizenship to people who we adore - foreign singers and actors (no need to mention their names) - why can't we consider a citizenship status to thousands holding red IC and ask them to vote for Barisan Nasional in the next general election?
Please remember. We also owe them a great deal of gratitude for their role in building Putrajaya, the KLCC, Cyberjaya, KL Tower, KLIA, Iskandar Malaysia and other facilities. How many local people were involved in the construction? One million? Your better swallow your tongue!
And do we know why did they overstayed after completing their job? Because most of them really want to earn a living. While they took over positions where Malaysians refused to, they indirectly help boost our economy and speed up national development.
The government should also take note that the main culprits in turning them into 'illegals' are the employers. Many factories, contractors, plantation owners and private companies took advantage of them. It is not cheap to have them. If it costs between RM4,000 and RM6,000 per worker, we have to believe that many employers simply avoided that duty to save their pocket.
On its last day, 6P only recorded about 800,000 registration for legalisation. Another 120,000 chose to go back home to their respective countries.
Out of 4 million, we call this a big success?
So, what do we do with the estimated 2-3 million? Flush them out? How? With the help of police, armed forces, Rela, the Immigration Dept and other agencies? Do you really know where they are?
That's the main problem. No proper homework. We always take up things so lightly, and the data we depend on is already obsolete! We refused to listen to good suggestions and proposals. As people involved with the 6P, we thought it would be the best system ever. And the best part was, too many people issued different directives down... and the boss didn't have and hands on at it!
I think the 6P needs to be improved. The system encourages more corruption and didn't meet its objectives. Call it a failure. PM, Muhyiddin and Hisham are too busy to monitor the situation and their officers in-charge were too afraid to give unpleasant report. That's the problem when we - as the bosses - keep on telling them that we don't want any bad news.
The government is not always right. Many policies and programs had backfired but it doesn't mean that it cannot be revived, enhanced and further improved. There are people outside the public sector who are masters in any aspect of administration. The only problem is, they are not politicians.
The other major problem is, its difficult for the government to listen to others. To those at the top, especially ministers, they always consider themselves as the corporate and legalistic entities. If they call you 'stupid', it really reflects. Each time you go back to your constituency, you are the celebrity!
Just like Umno which puts a limit to the number of professionals as members, our government too does not welcome any Hang Nadim to its core. What a pity!