Dr M thinks there are too many foreigners in Malaysia

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad believes that while Malaysia is multiracial, too much is not a good thing.

"I think this country is a multiracial country. We like it that way, but I think not too many races should be making Malaysia their home.

"We are getting a lot of people from Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Middle East, Iran, Central Asia and the likes.

"We have now become very confused, people don't know who is Malaysian and who is not," he said at the Sultan Abdul Hamid Old Collegians Association dinner in Kuala Lumpur last night.

Sultan Abdul Hamid College in Kedah is the alma mater for Mahathir as well as former finance minister Daim Zainuddin and first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, among others.

Mahathir said the influx of foreigners should be blamed on Malaysians for not working hard enough, missing out not just on jobs but also marriage opportunities.

"Nowadays we are seeing a lot of Bangladeshis coming here, two million of them.

"Why are they here? Because we people don't want to work, so the Bangladeshis do all the work.

"And not only that, they are now marrying pretty Malay girls and taking them back to Bangladesh.

"And if you are not careful, you will be short of girls to marry," he warned in jest.

A Bank Negara Malaysia report previously said that estimated two million documented foreign workers played an important role in supporting the country’s economy but contended that foreign labour needed to be better managed.

It deduced that most foreign workers in the country were considered as “low skilled” and without tertiary education, and said that they were more likely to take “dirty, dangerous and difficult” jobs for the low wages offered.

“It does suggest that current wages in Malaysia may be too low to attract local workers,” the report said. - Mkini