Excuse me...

By Zaki Awang

Talk to any local Sabahan about the foreigners or the illegal immigrants in the state, you will see the face turning like a volcano about to erupt.The anger is real, it's almost lava-like. If you don't wish to be destroyed, you'd better jump aside.
I kid you not.
Of course, the anger is justified, but, somewhat misplaced. Truthfully speaking, we are losing the battle.
This problem has been with us for years, nothing concrete has been done, except for the short tenure of Chong Kah Kiat as our Chief Minister.It shows with political will, some things are possible.
If our heavy weight politicians had been serious all along, this problem would have been contained.Being serious with this issue is definitely alien to the politicians concerned.
Just reflect back, one minute amnesty is declared so that illegals can go back to their countries, the next minute, because of pressure from the governments where these illegals come from, everything is back to square one.
I am sure, some people actually make money from this flip-flop approach.
We are talking about the survival game here. There are 300 million people south of the porous border, and another 100 million to the north who only need to swim over.These people need to be fed. And, guess what?We can do this because our economy is definitely better than theirs.
We are relatively comfortable, we can practically pick and choose our jobs.Our young people only want to work in an air-conditioned office, leaving the 'dirty' jobs to the foreigners.
Who's to be blamed?
I buy my vegetables from a Bugis woman down the road.Timorese workers deliver gas to my house.Minor house repairs are done by Filipinos, and my amah is also a Filipino. Don't forget our construction, our plantation and factory workers.The list goes on.
Let's get real, we are at their mercy. Send them home for just a week, see if we can survive.
The stubborn amongst us will say, who cares?
I can't speak for everyone, but, I want my comforts and these are provided by these people at a cheap price.
The real solution is to pick and choose who stays and who goes home.My approach is simple, keep those who are economically useful to us, the rest put them on a slow boat to somewhere. I don't care where.
A proper immigration policy that caters to our economic needs must be put in place then.Tell the nation what sort of workers we need and how many, and then bring them in. Without these people, our economy will go into a tailspin, period.
See, we are really dependent on them, don't tell me they are not aware of this. What we can we do?
The answer is nothing, besides the occasional raids and what have you.We are beaten, scream blue black if that's what you want to do.These people are staying put.
They are taking over our country, they work hard, while we moan and groan.
Like the Chinese immigrants before them, soon, they will be part and parcel of our human landscape.They are close to us racially, can you tell any difference if not for the way they speak?As time passes, they will be as Sabahans as you and me, if they are not already.
At one stage, the Germans made so much noise about their Turkish guest workers because of the cultural and religious differences. But, now, with the German born younger members of these workers, the German public have grudgingly accepted the situation except for the neo-fascist elements in the country. All the other European countries have learnt to accept this new reality too.
This is globalisation, like it or not.
While we are at it I don't understand why the government doesn't bring in more skilled and the educated ones like badminton coach Rexy Mainaky and give them red ICs -Malaysian Identity Card on the spot? I'd like to think they are more deserving as they can help the country bring honours in sports and what have you. And, don't forget the African and other foreign footballers who are playing in our local league, just give them citizenship and I am sure our football rankings will improve immediately.
Our neighbours who can bring in the necessary capital and help generate wealth must be encouraged to come, like what Singapore is doing.With all the economic activities, I am sure many of our unemployed graduates will be gainfully employed at last.
Enough of the peasant stock for me! I want more class!
Meanwhile, I can't say I am not looking forward to the new English football season which is starting soon.
Excuse me, my Filipino amah just told me she needed money to pay the Timorese gas man and the Timorese grass-cutter tomorrow.
As I sit in front of my TV, I don't detect anything unusual.
Do you?