Monday, Sep 10, 2012
JOHOR BARU - Malaysians above the age of 18 are allowed to work in Singapore except for male natives from Sabah and Sarawak whose age limit has been raised to 35.
The new ruling was imposed as an "administrative punishment" after a series of crimes and fights involving rowdy native Sabahans and Sarawakians in the republic.
It is learnt that several high profile murders involving Sarawakians and Sabahans in Ang Mo Kio Avenue, Kallang, and also Geylang in recent years have contributed towards the stricter regulations.
The new ruling has caused much difficulties to law-abiding Sabahan and Sarawakian native men, mainly unskilled and odd-job workers to work on the island.
Fresh workers below 35 were barred entry while those within that age group and already working there could not renew their work permits after they expire within two years.
Gagasan Dayak Iban Bersatu Malaysia (GAIU) president Sai Malaka said although the ruling was not made official by the Singapore Manpower Ministry (MOM), all work permit applications by native men from Sabah and Sarawak below the age of 35 were automatically rejected.
"I feel that this measure is very extreme and discriminatory towards native Sabahans and Sarawakians," he said.
Sai added that Sarawakian and Sabahan men were skilled workers especially in the oil and gas sector, fabrication and factory maintenance.
He said since the ruling took effect, many Sarawakians and Sabahans who were unable to work in Singapore had opted to work in factories in Johor, particularly around Pasir Gudang.
"Luckily the government is developing the oil and gas hub in Pengerang near here. The project is now providing much needed work for these unemployed workers," he told The Star yesterday.
State Unity, Human Resource, Science, Technology and Innovation Committee chairman M. Asojan said that he was also aware of the issue and urged Sabahans and Sarawakians who were unable to get into Singapore to take up the 42,000 jobs available in the various industries in Johor.
Meanwhile, a spokesman from MOM confirmed that Singapore had tightened the policies governing the hiring and retention of foreign manpower in the last few years to moderate the growth of foreign work force as well as to promote productivity-driven economic growth.
He said that foreign manpower from all sources were required to meet various criteria to be eligible for work passes.
"We will continue to approve or renew the work passes of workers from Sabah and Sarawak who are found to be eligible and suitable to work in Singapore," said the spokesman.
Malaysian High Commissioner to Singapore Datuk Md Hussin Nayan said that during the elections in Singapore, one of the issues raised was over the high number of foreign workers there and the government had taken steps to address the matter by minimising the intake of unskilled workers
Affected workers unhappy with Singapore's blanket punishment
Sabahans and Sarawakians are upset with Singapore for tightening employment regulations which bar those below 35 years of age from working in the republic.
They feel that Singapore should not impose a blanket punishment for the "rowdy behaviour" of a handful of the natives.
An affected worker, Linggi, 28, from Kapit in Sarawak, said he had been with a marine engineering company in Tuas, Singapore, since 2004 but lost his job last month when he could not renew his work permit.
"My employer and I tried to appeal several times but was rejected by the manpower ministry," he said, adding that he was earning S$12 (RM28.80) an hour.
The Iban said he had heard of many other natives below the age of 35 from Sabah and Sarawak facing similar difficulties.
"It is not fair to punish everyone else when only a handful were creating problems in Singapore," said Linggi.
Linggi has since found work in an engineering company in Pasir Gudang, which pays him only about RM4,000 a month.
Another affected worker is Sabahan Adrian, 26, who worked as a chef in a hotel earning about S$1,500 (RM3,600) monthly.
"I have been working in Singapore for six years, but all of sudden and without any reason, my work permit has not been approved."
JOHOR BARU - Malaysians above the age of 18 are allowed to work in Singapore except for male natives from Sabah and Sarawak whose age limit has been raised to 35.
The new ruling was imposed as an "administrative punishment" after a series of crimes and fights involving rowdy native Sabahans and Sarawakians in the republic.
It is learnt that several high profile murders involving Sarawakians and Sabahans in Ang Mo Kio Avenue, Kallang, and also Geylang in recent years have contributed towards the stricter regulations.
The new ruling has caused much difficulties to law-abiding Sabahan and Sarawakian native men, mainly unskilled and odd-job workers to work on the island.
Fresh workers below 35 were barred entry while those within that age group and already working there could not renew their work permits after they expire within two years.
Gagasan Dayak Iban Bersatu Malaysia (GAIU) president Sai Malaka said although the ruling was not made official by the Singapore Manpower Ministry (MOM), all work permit applications by native men from Sabah and Sarawak below the age of 35 were automatically rejected.
"I feel that this measure is very extreme and discriminatory towards native Sabahans and Sarawakians," he said.
Sai added that Sarawakian and Sabahan men were skilled workers especially in the oil and gas sector, fabrication and factory maintenance.
He said since the ruling took effect, many Sarawakians and Sabahans who were unable to work in Singapore had opted to work in factories in Johor, particularly around Pasir Gudang.
"Luckily the government is developing the oil and gas hub in Pengerang near here. The project is now providing much needed work for these unemployed workers," he told The Star yesterday.
State Unity, Human Resource, Science, Technology and Innovation Committee chairman M. Asojan said that he was also aware of the issue and urged Sabahans and Sarawakians who were unable to get into Singapore to take up the 42,000 jobs available in the various industries in Johor.
Meanwhile, a spokesman from MOM confirmed that Singapore had tightened the policies governing the hiring and retention of foreign manpower in the last few years to moderate the growth of foreign work force as well as to promote productivity-driven economic growth.
He said that foreign manpower from all sources were required to meet various criteria to be eligible for work passes.
"We will continue to approve or renew the work passes of workers from Sabah and Sarawak who are found to be eligible and suitable to work in Singapore," said the spokesman.
Malaysian High Commissioner to Singapore Datuk Md Hussin Nayan said that during the elections in Singapore, one of the issues raised was over the high number of foreign workers there and the government had taken steps to address the matter by minimising the intake of unskilled workers
Affected workers unhappy with Singapore's blanket punishment
Sabahans and Sarawakians are upset with Singapore for tightening employment regulations which bar those below 35 years of age from working in the republic.
They feel that Singapore should not impose a blanket punishment for the "rowdy behaviour" of a handful of the natives.
An affected worker, Linggi, 28, from Kapit in Sarawak, said he had been with a marine engineering company in Tuas, Singapore, since 2004 but lost his job last month when he could not renew his work permit.
"My employer and I tried to appeal several times but was rejected by the manpower ministry," he said, adding that he was earning S$12 (RM28.80) an hour.
The Iban said he had heard of many other natives below the age of 35 from Sabah and Sarawak facing similar difficulties.
"It is not fair to punish everyone else when only a handful were creating problems in Singapore," said Linggi.
Linggi has since found work in an engineering company in Pasir Gudang, which pays him only about RM4,000 a month.
Another affected worker is Sabahan Adrian, 26, who worked as a chef in a hotel earning about S$1,500 (RM3,600) monthly.
"I have been working in Singapore for six years, but all of sudden and without any reason, my work permit has not been approved."
