Mohan,
I had not seen that story until you brought it to my attention but did not have a chance to read the papers yesterday or today yet. Nevertheless it is not a surprise. In a country very suspicious of outsiders in their nature, and significantly overrun by Indonesian, Bangladeshi, and Mynamar immigrants brought here to work the construction, manufacturing, and plantation sectors it is not a surprise. Clearly the gov't intends to ship immigrant workers back and preserve jobs for the locals as the employment rate starts to show signs of trouble. At present we suposedly have full employment with some forecasters predicting 3.5% unemployment before the end of the year. I can't say that I disagree with their intentions. I suspect I would feel the same way. That it was badly handled to the tune of violence is just the typically bungling by a largely corrupt and ill trained police force. The cops here are very poorly trained IMO. Hardly a week goes by that they don't shoot and kill suspects. Always, of course, because they were "threatened" by the suspect. According to one story a policeman shot a motor cycle operator as he tried to escape a ticket. Can you believe it? Shot him in the back. Fortunately he was prosecuted. Of course the Indonesian workers are a motley crew as well, increasingly associated with crime here. They very likely invited rough handling.
Best,
Stitch
best,
Stitch |
