Move to freeze hiring of Bangladeshis linked to Sarawak polls, says PAS

Putrajaya's flip-flop decision on the intake of 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers was just a tactic to prevent it from becoming a major issue in the Sarawak elections, PAS deputy president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said today. He said this was because the issue of hiring foreign workers cut across ethnic, religious and political lines, thus affecting Barisan Nasional's chances in the elections, which were expected in April. "This issue will put Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem, who is a strong proponent of campaigns to strengthen local Sarawakians, in a difficult situation, if he supports the large intake of foreign workers without solving the issues shrouding the Sarawak people," he said in a statement today. "Those who are being oppressed, especially in Sarawak, will feel the impact of the government's policy to bring in a large number of foreign workers because they themselves are struggling with the high cost of living and difficulties in finding jobs." Tuan Ibrahim said the people should wait and see the reasons the government would give once it revived the intake of foreign workers. "Today, the government can blame the employers who are purportedly flip-flopping in the issue of foreign workers. But is it true because business plans and human resources cannot be as fast as BN ministers in changing decisions? "Most probably, the people will have to wait until after the Sarawak elections." – February 21, 2016.]]>