Plights of Legal Migrant Workers

More than 60% of my workforce are legal migrant workers from Indonesia, Bangladesh and Vietnam. We have tried for years to entice local workers, and more often than not, the locals will last at the most 1 month. It is extremely rare for the locals to last more than 1 year.

The migrant workers are all legal, and we housed then in double storey low cost house less than 50 meters from the factory's entrance. The abode provided consist of two rooms, a kitchen, living room area and bath room. Each unit is occupied by 8 workers, who work in shifts.

Some of the workers have been with us for almost 10 years now, and they hold shift supervisor positions, and basically is fully in charge.

The workers are very responsible, and they have fully integrated themselves into the local housing area. Often, they will provide labour to the housing area when cleaning the whole area is required. The locals in turn have been known to include the workers in their social activities, especially during festival times.

However rosy all this may seem, the migrant workers have been and are continuously subjected to harassment. Some of the 'events' include:

- random roundup for overnight stays at local lockups
- random Rela checks, which ultimately will require 'gifts'
- robberies by locals who will 'take' whatever cash, handphones etc

Just today, one of my guy was punched up by three locals who also stole all his cash, some RM800. He was literally crying when he related the happenings to us.

I wish there is some way to make things better for them....

Belated Merry Christmas

The last few weeks have been somewhat of a blur...

Anyway, Merry Christmas to all...

Why Men Are Never Depressed

Got this from a friend, and i think most men would readily identify with the 'truths' contained therein....


Men Are Just Happier People-- What do you expect from such simple creatures? Your last name stays put. The garage is all yours. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Chocolate is just another snack. You can be President. You can never be pregnant. You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO shirt to a water park. Car mechanics tell you the truth. The world is your urinal. You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky. You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt. Same work, more pay. Wrinkles add character. Wedding dress $5000. Tux rental-$100. People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them. New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet. One mood all the time.

Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. You know stuff about tanks. A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can open all your own jars. You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend.

Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. Three pairs of shoes are more than enough. You almost never have strap problems in public. You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes. Everything on your face stays its original color. The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. You only have to shave your face and neck.

You can play with toys all your life. One wallet and one pair of shoes -- one color for all seasons. You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look. You can "do" your nails with a pocket knife. You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache.

You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes.

No wonder men are happier.

Christmas Cantata... coughing and such..

For the last three months or so, the Sanctuary Choir of Trinity Methodist PJ has been practicing for the 2007 Christmas Cantata. It is now down to the last rehearsal tonight before the actual singing on Saturday and Sunday this weekend.

There are some 40 singers and all would have tried their very best to keep as far away as possible from coughs and sore throats. Unfortunately, during rehearsal last night, there were bouts of coughing almost in time to the songs.. A lot of throat clearing..

I did the full course of antibiotics from the medical doctor, completed 1 bottle of cough syrup, a few packets of Lozenges in the hope of being fully recovered by this weekend.

I guess the moment of truth will be known in due time..

The Christmas Cantata this year is entitled "A Light still Shines", and it will starts at 830pm, Saturday 15th Dec, and Sunday 16th Dec. It is just under one hour, and as usual, there will be a free will offering taken and the collections will be channeled towards worthy causes. In the past years, organizations that have benefited include The Kurnia Dialysis Center, The Sengois and other NGOs.

So, come and be blessed.

Engineers have more common sense..

A Priest, a Doctor, and an Engineer

A priest, a doctor, and an engineer are golfing, and are stuck behind the slowest foursome in history. They watch the 4 duffers in front of them play, and their ineptitude is unbelievable. Shanks into the woods, worm-burners, slices, hooks, you name it. The course manager comes comes along, and the three men start to complain to him about the golfers up ahead.

The manager explains, "Those are four blind firemen. They all lost their eyesight while saving people from a fire in our clubhouse last year. We let them play for free whenever they want."

The three golfers now feel a little remorse for mocking the firemen and start to discuss amongst themselves.

"I'm going to go back to my chuch and say a special prayer for those men tonight," remarks the priest.

The doctor responds in turn, "I have a couple opthomologist friends...I'll call them tonight and see if there's anything they can do for them."

The engineer looks out in front of him. "Why can't these guys play at night?"

Dammit I Missed

Priest And Atheist

Two men, a priest and an atheist, are playing golf. At the green on the first hole, the atheist, lines up for a short two-foot putt, taps the ball, and the ball slips around the edge of the cup and does not go in. "Dammit, I missed!" exclaims the atheist.

The priest tells the atheist that he shouldn't curse, because God will punish the atheist for doing so.

On the second hole, the atheist tries a particularly aggressive chip shot to get the ball onto the green and instead lands in a sand bunker. "Dammit I missed!" exclaimed the atheist, to which the priest again issued a warning about God punishing those who curse.

The round continues in much the same way, with the atheist continuing to exclaim "Dammit I missed!" every time he hits an errant ball (which is quite often), and the priest continues to admonish him about God's wrath.

Finally, they get to the eighteenth hole and the score is tied. The atheist needs to make a two-foot putt in order to win. He taps the ball, and again he misses, and again, he curses his miss.

Before the priest can respond, the clouds in the sky open up, and a bolt of lightning shoots out and hits the priest, killing him.

Then, from the cloud comes a loud voice "Dammit, I missed."