CAP: Stop blaming foreigners for rising Covid-19 cases

 

The Consumers' Association of Penang (CAP) spoke against the statement by Senior Minister (Security) Ismail Sabri Yaakob who said the management of residential areas and condominiums were allowed to make Covid-19 tests compulsory for tenants, especially foreigners, before they enter the premises.

"The statement singling out foreigners is unwise, particularly coming from a minister, as it may trigger xenophobic aggression against foreign workers who have made a substantial contribution to our economic growth," said CAP president Mohideen Abdul Kader in a statement today.

Mohideen said the Strata Management Act (SMA) 2013 has no provisions allowing a joint management body or management corporation to compel residents to submit their test results or bar them if they fail to comply.

He added that Ismail made mention of condominiums which may include foreign managerial staff, specialists, and researchers.

"If he refers to foreign factory workers who are housed in low-cost flats, then the government has to be blamed because, in better times, the government did not ensure proper accommodation for these foreign workers.

"It was left to the employers to cram these workers in flat units under unhygienic conditions. Maximising profit was the sole objective of these employers and the government cannot plead ignorance," said Mohideen.

He said this situation had been reported to the authorities for many years, and among the latest was by the Ethical Trading Initiative in 2019, but the problem still remains.

"Now the government has ordered employers to ensure that all their foreign workers undergo mandatory Covid-19 screening at the start of 2021. We would like to ask if a month-old swab test result is still valid or if they have to take a swab test every two weeks?" he asked.

He said assuming that property management forces foreign workers to produce Covid-19 test results, none of these workers will be able to afford the test if the employer does not pay for them.

"The foreign workers should not be made scapegoats for the rapidly worsening Covid-19 situation.

"It is obvious that the current horrendous pandemic situation took place after the Sabah Elections on Sept 26, 2020, and when interstate/inter-district travel was permitted from Dec 7, 2020," he added.

"Does it mean if a person is unable to show their test result, they have to sleep on the streets, whether or not they are infected?

"We call on the authorities to seek rational solutions to curb the spread of the pandemic and, at the same time, ensure that foreigners are not victimised," said the veteran activist.

Ismail drew sharp criticism over the matter and even engaged in a war of words with MPs Fahmi Fadzil and Hannah Yeoh, saying that they were more interested in defending the rights of foreigners than Malaysians. - Mkini