THERE is little hope that urgent and effective assistance will reach the Sabahans stranded in Peninsula Malaysia because the government is on the wrong track. When the issue was first highlighted by a local newspaper, State ministers had denied the existence of the problem, and then when confronted with evidence, said the numbers were small, like only 20. Incoherent voices have since been heard from state ministers and their assistants.
The latest example of being off track is the appeal by the State Minister of Community Development who called on district chiefs, native chiefs, village chiefs and kapitans to be on the look out for employment agents in their areas.
She thinks employment agents are like illegal immigrants who roam the country side. In case our ministers have not noticed, advertisements for Sabah job seekers to work in the peninsula can be found in newspapers and occasionally banners, like those of private colleges.
Now that our young Sabahans have friends and relatives already in the peninsula, many of Sabah’s school leavers simply pack their bags and join their relatives and friends in KL in search of a better life. Get off an Air Asia flight at KL’s low cost carrier terminal, and you will come across young Sabahans being received by employment agents in KL or their friends who are already working there.
To see for themselves, our Ministers and assistant ministers can try the Air Asia flights to Kuala Lumpur, Penang or Johore. Some of these young Sabahans will succeed. Others will be disappointed. Some will fall prey to crime syndicates, human traffickers and all sorts of problems.
Unless the State Government shows more seriousness and leadership in solving this disgraceful problem, our young people who are stranded in KL will have to fend for themselves.
The Sabahans living in the peninsula today are no longer like in the 1970s to 1990s when most of them were Sabah Foundation-sponsored students and private students or state government officials whose welfare was looked after by the offices of Sabah Foundation and the Sabah Liaison Unit.
Today’s population of Sabahans in KL is estimated at more than a hundred thousand. The most vulnerable are the school leavers and job seekers. Poorly equipped, once they are jobless and without cash, they become stranded. This is when they are most vulnerable to be drawn into a life of crime, to live off charity or to beg in the streets of KL.
This is not merely a State or a Federal matter. This is a Sabah issue. Our leaders at both the state and federal levels can and should use the immense government resources at their disposal to help these young people.
Get them jobs, place them in training centres or bring them home. Even if the success rate cannot be 100 percent, as many as possible of these young Sabahans should be helped to give them a new path in life.
By: YONG TECK LEE (sabahkini)
hopefully, the publication of this article will get the government attention to do something to help the stranded sabahan youths in the peninsula. at least give them jobs or training for the betterment of their future. also advised for the youth to do their best and not to expect government assistance. prepared and be careful when seeking job opportunity.
ReplyDeleteMasing2 ingin menegakkan benang yang basah....bagi saya, saya akan percaya dengan apa yang saya lihat dengan mata saya sendiri...
ReplyDeleteGiving help to the stranded which most of them doesnt even bother to help themselves...id say it is just a waste of fund & time...its better for us to give them 2 choices; either go back to Sabah or try to find a job instead of wondering around & sleeping in the alleys...
ReplyDeletesome of them really need help. hoped that the youths of sabahan stranded in peninsula can use this excellent opportunity to improve their standard of living.
ReplyDeleteSaya ada terbaca beberapa artikel yang mana mengatakan hanya 29 orang yang teraniaya dan tidak mempunyai rumah, dan hal ini terjadi kerana perbuatan mereka sendiri. Dan mereka2 ini bukan lah di pecat atau sengaja diberhenti kan tetapi memberhenti kan diri mereka sendiri.. dan difahamkan juga 24 daripada mereka telah berjaya mendapatkan pekerjaan di sekitar KL manakala 5 orang lagi kembali ke sabah selepas Jabatan sumber manuasia mendapatkan pekerjaan kepada mereka.... Hanya berkongsi maklumat.
ReplyDeleteThat's the problem. Youth nowadays doesn't think twice and weight the pros and cons. I have cousins who went there and end up coming back empty handed and all back to square one. That is why our elders always advice to think twice before doing anything and don't make a brash decisions.
ReplyDeleteBut I hope the Human Resource Department could help these stranded and unemployed Sabahan youths to get a job whether in KL or in Sabah.
yes, i think they are influence by peoples, their friends or relatives success at peninsula. Some of them want a change in life. We say we can do it and just to realize there's more to just words to describe our action. There are feelings involve, motivation, independent skills and support. Maybe they can train themselves first at home with simpler tasks before making a big decision. The attitude of the job seekers must also change and not be choosy of jobs. But of course look for a job that pays well with the job.
ReplyDeleteWoohoo!Yong claimed that the government is on the wrong track. He might know something.Shhshshshsh~But I'm quite unsure about his 'trip' to Peninsula, to do an overview on the exact amount of stranded Sabahans there.
ReplyDeleteIsu Sabahan stranded ni tidak dapat disangkal lagi. Sudah disiarkan di banyak akhbar bahawa beratus-ratus merempat di kuala lumpur dan belum tau lagi di negeri-negeri lain di Sjung M'sia. Apa sudah jadi? Banyaknya pekerjaan di Sabah seperti industri kelapa sawit tetapi still orang-orang tempatan lebih suka berhijrah di S'jung. Masalahnya belia-belia tempatan ni....terpengaruh bahawa hidup di bandar-bandar besar seperti yang disiarkan di TV..bagus, rezeki lumayan dan bermacam2 lagi. Namun ia adalah hanya impian sahaja bila realitinya ramai mereka ni tidak mengecapi apa yang diharapkan bila sudah sampai di sana. Pendapat saya, kerajaan negeri harus mengambil langkah segera bagaimana nak attract ramai belia tempatan ni balik ke sabah dan mengisi kerja-kerja di sektor pertanian misalnya.....tak kanlah kita asyik nak bergantung dengan rakyat asing. Bagilah insentif yang lebih baik dan lebihkan promosi kepada mereka2 ni barulah kita tidak ketandusan pekerja di negeri sendiri.....
ReplyDeleteYong should suggest the right track to the government to help stranded Sabahan in KL instead of keep complaining.
ReplyDeleteYang penting bakal pencari peluang di KL harus mengambil langkah jaga-jaga sebelum berbuat demikian. Yang terkandas ramai yang sudah dihubungi dan bantuan akan disalurkan jika mereka perlu.
ReplyDeleteThe most important thing to do is to encourage them to come back. Although they didn't really expect to go back to their own states, but it's better than to let them just wandering along the streets without having even a single penny in their pockets. We cared, but the government even cared. I believed that.
ReplyDeleteKesian dengan rakan-rakan senegeri yang terdampar di KL. Malu dengan sikap mereka yang sanggup jadi galandangan di negara Malaysia dan tiada bezanya dengan PTI dari Bangladesh, Myanmar dll....cuma beza ada IC tapi tiada kelayakan. So 2 x 5 = 10...so kira samalah tu....sedangkan orang-orang SM kalau nak masuk Sabah perlu visa. Dan mereka dialu-alukan di Sabah...kerana sikap rakyat kita yang ramah dan semangat 1 M'sia yang kuat. Bezanya rakan-rakan Sabahan yang terdampar di sana tu tidak dipandang pun oleh penduduk sana.....Malu tau! Suka atau tidak dengan apa yang saya cakap...ianya adalah realiti!
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