Move requires more thought

NEW Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran must realise that he is no longer an Opposition MP. He must remember that he is not only a member of the government of the day but also a Federal Minister. As such, his speech and action must be rational and unwavering.

Firstly, he should know that cooks in the Malaysian Indian and Indian Muslim eateries are not from universities and they are not trained to be cooks. The experience and special skills they learned from their masters, parents or relatives have landed them employment in Malaysia and elsewhere. Their culinary skills make them a special breed of people especially at wellknown restaurants and eateries.

The minister should have given notice to the restaurant owners that permits for foreign cooks would be restricted to a two-year period after which they should conduct training centres to train their own cooks instead of stating the ultimatum that all restaurants serving Malaysian food are required to recruit only locals as cooks from Jan 1 next year.

Kulasegaran should also look at the thousands of foreigners working in foreign banks, multinational corporations and universities and colleges who deprive our graduates of employment as well as those in factories and retail outlets who also deprive our less educated citizens of jobs.

Urgent attention is needed in these sectors too.