Kuching: DAPSY Sarawak Treasurer Lesley Chong said that as the controversy surrounding the Foreign Workers Transformation Approach (FWTA) continues to intensify, public concern has long moved beyond the fee increases and now centres on whether the entire system complies with the fundamental principles of transparency, fair competition, and accountable governance.
She said that over the past few weeks, the concerns raised by members of the public, business chambers, employers, and industry stakeholders have not only failed to receive satisfactory answers but have instead grown as more information has emerged, which leads to increasing public scrutiny of the FWTA system itself.
“Today, the public’s objections go far beyond the issue of rising fees. The main concern bugging Sarawakians is why such a significant foreign worker management system must be handed over to a single private company for long-term exclusive operation?
“Why has the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreement still not been disclosed in full? And why does a policy that affects businesses across Sarawak continue to operate without the level of transparency and accountability that the public deserves?” she asked.
At the same time, she stressed that the DAP has never opposed Sarawak’s immigration autonomy, nor has it opposed the establishment of a more modern and efficient foreign worker management system.
“Sarawakians fought for autonomy so that policies could better serve Sarawak’s interests, not to create new monopolies. The people support Sarawakian autonomy, which in no way equates to supporting new and exclusive privileges that allow private companies to impose charges without competition,” she said.
Unfortunately, she noted that the Sarawak Government has yet to provide clear answers to several of the public’s most important questions, including why the system was not entrusted to government-linked institutions with established technical expertise, why the arrangement must be operated exclusively by a private company, and why the selection and tender processes and contents of the PPP agreement have yet to be fully disclosed.
“If this arrangement genuinely serves the public interest, why can the agreement not be made public for scrutiny? If the system is truly reasonable, why is the government still unable to provide a full explanation regarding the basis of the fees, the profit structure, and the government’s actual role in the project?” she asked.
In her view, as the controversy continues to grow, the government can no longer respond by saying the matter is still under discussion or review.
“If a system lacks transparency, lacks competition, lacks accountability, and has already lost public confidence, then the government should not continue patching it up. Instead, it should seriously examine whether the system in its current form deserves to continue existing at all,” she said.
She further argued that even if the government were to reduce fees in the future, it would still fail to address the fundamental problems with the system itself.
“The issue has never been merely that the fees are too high, rather, it is about why businesses have no choice, why all transactions must be channelled through a single private company, and why the public still does not know how the entire system actually operates,” she said.
Chong therefore called on the Sarawak Government to abolish the current FWTA operating model and replace it with a foreign worker management system that is more open, transparent, and competitive.
She said that any new system must be built on the principles of open tender, fair competition, and effective oversight so that arrangements involving public interest are subject to public scrutiny rather than being decided behind closed doors and so that the costs thousands of businesses and employers across Sarawak will ultimately have to bear are determined openly.
“What Sarawak needs is a system that genuinely serves the people, supports businesses, and promotes economic development, not constantly promoting a system that continues to generate controversy, lacks transparency, and creates persistent public doubt,” she said.
Chong concluded by stressing that only through full disclosure, full accountability, and comprehensive reform can confidence in Sarawak’s foreign worker management system be truly restored among businesses and the wider public.
