Tuesday, July 29, 2008

TUESDAY-29 JULY 2008- SABAH STILL DEPENDS ON FOREIGN LABOUR: CHAMBER

Sabah still depends on foreign labour: Chamber

KOTA KINABALU:

The Sabah Indian Muslim Chamber of Commerce and Industries has welcomed the proposal to grant amnesty to the illegal immigrants in Sabah. Its President, Datuk Baisul Khan bin Salman Fans, said it is a well- known fact that the cheap immigrant labour was part and parcel of our construction industry. “Without them, we cannot even see the magnificent buildings such as huge departmental stores, shophouses, houses, roads and bridges. “Their presence has very much reduced the cost of living in our State as they are directly involved in fishing, vegetable growing and service industries,” he pointed out in a statement yesterday. On the other hand, Baisul said we cannot deny or ignore the fact that the crime rate has escalated gradually as more illegal immigrants came to Sabah to look for employment in the construction and plantation industries. “The present scenario is that without the foreign labour, the construction, plantation and services sectors would come to a standstill as the locals are not interested in such sectors due to the low remuneration and long working hour. “Many of the restaurants, coffee shops and hardware shops are employing 90 percent of foreign labour. They may have to close down without them,” he added.

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