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MIRI – Sarawakians are urged to fill job vacancies in the state as migrant workers move to new projects in neighbouring Kalimantan, Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said.
The Progressive Democratic Party president said there are many employment opportunities all over the state in the post-pandemic period, and migrant workers cannot be relied on to fill them.
“Sarawak youth must take up the challenge of working in the many industrial and entrepreneurial sectors that are getting very active again.
“Our local youth must take up these posts. We cannot rely only on migrant workers anymore,” said Tiong, who is also Dudong assemblyman, when launching the August national day month-long celebrations at Rumah Hillary longhouse near Bintulu today.
Tiong’s remarks follow Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg’s statement recently that the state is expected to lose migrant workers en masse to the huge development projects in the adjacent Indonesian territory of Kalimantan.
Indonesia is to set up its new capital, Nusantara, in Kalimantan, which will have mega-scale projects that will draw workers out of Sarawak, Johari had said.
This is already affecting Sarawak’s plantation and construction sectors, including the building of the Pan-Borneo Highway, he added.
Johar said the private sector should work at attracting more locals into the plantation and construction sectors. – The Vibes, August 1, 2022