BY: LYNDY ANG

While foreign tourists and visitors who travel to Malaysia are genuine travellers, the doubts and aspersions being cast on those who are a threat to national security are basically refugees and asylum seekers, the illegal migrants and migrant workers.

The Malaysian government for decades has been doing a poor job of documenting those who enter the country for whatever purpose, and this is where there emerges a concern and worry over whether the authorities have control over foreigners.

Leaving aside those foreigners who are in Malaysia on genuine grounds, like expatriates, students, documented migrant workers, the others are not under the watch of the government such as refugees and asylum seekers and illegal immigrants.

Foreigners who are a threat to the nation are also those who displace Malaysian workers at the workplace, taking jobs meant for local workers, by accepting lower wages or undercutting the market rate.

Many Malaysians are also of the view that they are puzzled why there should be multitudes of foreigners in this country, and not only taking up jobs, but housing and accommodation space that is scarce for people in this country.

This is why the government and relevant authorities are being urged to conduct regular operations to weed out those foreigners who should not be in this country and deport them back to their home countries as they could be a possible threat to national security.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE

** The views expressed on this opinion is of the writer and not the publisher