Serbuan, pengusiran dan krisis tenaga kerja di Malaysia : dilema negara dan dasar tenaga kerja asing di Sabah (Raid, deportation and labour crisis in Malaysia: state dilemma and foreign workers policies in Sabah

Abstract

Sabah state is considered to accommodate the highest number of immigrants and foreign workers in Malaysia. This situation raises concern for the Sabahan and politicians in this country. However, this situation and the problems of immigrants and foreign workers in Sabah today cannot be understood simply by looking at the recent developments. This is due to the fact that it is necessary to look back to the process of Sabah’s economic development and urgent labour force demands in the last few decades. Therefore, this paper offers a genealogy of Sabah policies on foreign workers by focusing on the development of the state's economy and labour shortage crisis since the colonial period until the recent days. With this regard, despite the fact that some efforts and policies have been undertaken by the government (federal and state levels) and also private initiatives, however, it continues to be a major obstacle for the state’s economic development. Therefore, if the Sabah state wants to move into a developed state such as the states in the peninsula, the issue of labour shortages become a major barrier. In other words, economic development and modernization will not succeed without foreign workers, mainly Indonesian workers