We refer to Medecci Lineil’s letter attacking our call to the authorities to step up their operations to weed out illegal immigrants in coffee shops in Miri Sarawak. While we understand the economic incentive for employers to maximise profits, we reject Medecci’s arguments and his continued use of so called Austrian Libertarian economic principles to take such an extreme position.
We do not believe that such extreme views are in line with any rational economic principle, including Austrian Libertarians. Let me highlight some of what Medecci said and expose him for what he is.
He says: “Given MTUC’s strong position on illegal workers, i.e. ‘to eradicate the scourge of illegal workers once and for all’, it demonstrates its prevailing aggressive attitude against voluntary agreement and exchange between employer and employee and more importantly, the spirit of entrepreneurship.”
If we were to take him seriously, we must not enforce drug laws as well. After all, it is a voluntary agreement for the drug dealer to sell drugs to addicts. It is a voluntary agreement. According to Medecci, the set up of business is to serve the need of customers not the need of government. To succeed in a free market, business must please customers not the government.
So aren’t the drug pusher serving a need for the drug addict and pleasing him by providing for his craving for drugs? Is that Austrian Libertarian economic nirvana? Is it not a voluntary agreement and in the spirit of entrepreneurship for a 13-year-old to prostitute herself. A person’s body is her property, no? What right has the government to intervene by enacting statutory rape laws?
Why is the police interfering in her entrepreneurial spirit by enforcing such laws? Why do we need to licenced massage parlors to make sure that there are no brothels? We must remove the warning on board arriving aircrafts that says, ‘Please be reminded that drug trafficking is a serious offence and the punishment upon conviction is the mandatory death penalty.’
It will interfere with airlines ability to carry more passengers and affect tourists and drug traffickers’ free spirit of entrepreneurship
Medecci states: “These workers are illegal? Illegal means a type of immigration intervention that the State has decided to deploy aggressive action against voluntary agreement and exchange between employer and employee. Bear in mind you simply have no right to imprison or punish a man for using his property in whatever way he wants.”
So the illegal workers are the property of the coffee shop owners. Is that not slavery? Is the body of the 13 year old girl her private property as well, and so she should be allowed to decide what she wants to do with it?
We should not have traffic laws so the free entrepreneurship spirit should prevail for that million dollars cars can to drive without speed limits and motorcyclist to go on illegal racing. We should not have traffic lights so that the government cannot interfere on our freedom to cross road junctions anytime we want.
Medecci says: “The claim that ‘with half of the outlets having to cease operations temporarily because they had no workers left, proved that they had been employing illegal immigrants all this while.’ Are the unintended effects of policy targeting illegal workers. The owners lose money, productive capacity and customers. Again, I see that further government intervention is causing more problems.”
If we follow Medecci’s twisted logic, we should not enforce intellectual property rights as well. After all, those who are smart enough to make fake copies of DVDS should be free to profit form them without any government intervention
Medecci also states: “Secondly, if they really take our jobs, the same logic should be applied to any technological advances. Because technological advances would prove a threat to our economy. For example, the pick and shovel and kereta sorong, to say nothing of the big trucks, can do the work of thousands of workers. Are we to improve ourselves or impoverish ourselves?”
MTUC has never questioned technological advances. In fact the minimum wages and the need to weed out illegal workers will encourage, even compel coffee shops to adopt technology so that they do not need so many workers.
We can already see this happening. Coffee shops are making use of iPads, walkie-talkies to take orders and POS terminals to manage their accounts. This will lead to productivity level increasing which will lead to wage increases and will be beneficial to the real economy, with the greater purchasing power for workers and higher domestic consumption.
MTUC is not at all surprised by his latest rants, given that he had gone on record numerous times in articles in FMT calling for the abolishment of governments as the solution for all.
One can, with some justifications question the fairness of some laws and Malaysians generally can legitimately complain about selective enforcement, but to call for abolishment of governments, is a joke at best and seditious at worse. Medecci should live in Somalia where there is no working and no government interventions so in his logic, will be Austrian Libertarians’ economic nirvana.
The writer is secretary, MTUC Sarawak