SIBU, March 5: Pelawan assemblyman David Wong holds the view that the Sarawak government should be held responsible for the two recent cases of “overseas job scam” as these cases are the result of mismanagement of the state by the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
He said just within the year, there are already two such cases. The first one involved 47 Malaysians out of which 44 are Sarawakians who were detained in Cambodia while this second case involved eight Sarawakians who were allegedly trafficked to Liberia.
“Sarawak is full of resources. We have oil and gas, timber and coal. Why is it that these people cannot find work in Sarawak?
“The GPS government talks about Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (Score) providing hundreds of thousands of jobs. Where are these jobs? Why do Sarawakians still need to go overseas for jobs?
“And if we were to look at Klang Valley and Singapore, how many Sarawakians work there? Why can’t we keep our people?
“This recent two cases are the result of mismanagement of Sarawak,” said Wong at a press conference held at Sibu Airport while waiting for the arrival of the eight Sarawakians who were stranded in Liberia.
Wong said GPS government must reflect on the matter and question itself why Sarawakians have ended up in such a state where they were even willing to seek opportunities in countries poorer than Malaysia.
The eight Sarawakians arrived at KLIA earlier yesterday and touched down in Sibu at about 9.20pm last night.
Four of them are from Kapit and two each from Betong and Belingian. They will be staying overnight in Sibu and are expected to head back to their own hometowns today.
Wong said that like the Cambodia case, this case involving eight Sarawakians was also a human trafficking case.
“They were sent to Liberia on visitors’ pass, not work permit. Meaning, they could only stay for a month.
“Someone noticed them and informed the Sime Darby office in Liberia. The company looked into it and informed the Foreign Affairs Ministry which took immediate action in bringing them back to Sarawak.
“We want to thank the Foreign Affairs Ministry who have helped our people in the two cases — the Cambodia case and also this case,” said Wong.
Last month, it was revealed that 47 Malaysians — 44 were Sarawakians — were detained in Banteay Meanchey Prison, Cambodia since December last year without trial. They went to Cambodia with the promise of high-paying jobs. — DayakDaily
