Lack of decent-paying jobs drove S’wakians overseas — Andrew Lo

KUCHING: The failure to create decent-paying jobs via the state’s ‘ politics of development’ was what drove the 40 Sarawakians to try their luck in a foreign land.

Malaysian Trades Union Congress ( MTUC) Sarawak secretary Andrew Lo said for decades, tens of thousands of Sarawakians have sought employment in Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and other overseas countries due to the better opportunities available.

“There will always be cases of workers duped by promises of good- paying jobs overseas, especially in more economicallyadvanc e d c ount r ie s . But Cambodia?

“It is indeed embarrassing that our youths believe that Cambodia offers better opportunities than Sarawak. It is only in the 1970s that up to two million Cambodians died due to starvation, overwork and executions under the notorious Pol Pot regime,” said Lo in a statement Monday.

According to him, MTUC has over the years warned that the Sarawak government’s inwardlooking policies are driving the state backwards.

He said the years of politics of development have not created any decent jobs in Sarawak, as proven by the revelation that 10 of the 17 poorest districts in Malaysia are in Sarawak.

Lo also took a shot at Sarawak’s tourism sector which he said has fallen behind Sabah’s.

“Sabah allows foreign investors to develop its tourism projects while here in Sarawak, we have a siege mentality.”

He further remarked that MTUC Sarawak has also long been very sceptical of the ‘ Sarawak for Sarawakians’ movement and ‘ Sarawak First’ policy, saying: “We believe it to be a ruse for the rich and connected to grab more wealth.”

Adding on, he said even though human resources development is key to the progress of the state and the people, not one of Sarawak’s 29 ministers and assistant ministers is responsible for human resources.

“We need to create a skilled workforce, propel human capital development and address longstanding issues on foreign workers, labour productivity, job empowerment and industrial relations while developing a holistic blueprint for our human capital needs.”

On the issue of labour, he said the ‘ hopelessly outdated’ Sarawak Labour Ordinance was only amended in 2008 after almost 50 years, to provide basic rights for workers.

The ordinance has not been amended since 20 0 8 as the Sarawak government insists that any amendments have their agreement, he claimed.

“The minimum wage is lower in Sarawak simply because employers in the state have been paying much lower wages for the past five decades. It was only this year that the federal government implemented a uniform minimum wage rate for the whole country,” Lo said.

He s t ressed that unless Sarawak prioritises the creation of decent- paying jobs, the justreleased 40 Sarawakians would not be the last to believe that countries like Cambodia offer better opportunities.

“They may even bel ieve that Myanmar, Bangladesh and Somalia are better ( than Sarawak),” he said.