Bintulu Member of Parliament Dato' Seri Tiong King Sing noted that some industries preferred to take in foreign workers to increase their profit margins while neglecting the locals who were also looking for jobs.

"I am urging the Immigration Department not to consider the application of these kind of employers if they had proven to have refused to accept locals to work in their industry," he said when speaking at a dialogue session at Rh Randang, Km 75 Bintulu-Miri Road on Friday evening.

He made these remarks to act on the calls from residents in the Suai and Niah areas for more job opportunities to be given to them in the plantation areas, rather than to be offered to foreigners.

At the same time, he also advised the residents to be committed to their jobs should they had been engaged by the plantation companies.

He acknowledged that one of the reasons for the plantation companies to refuse to take in locals were due to the latter's undedicated attitude towards their jobs and even had left the jobs soon after getting their first salary.

"Definitely plantation companies could not tolerate such attitude as they need the workers to ensure consistent production. the negative attitude of the workers could lead a company to go bankcrupt," he added.

The Member of Parliament had also urged residents in rural areas here to monitor and ensure that their village or longhouse leaders remained able to look after their wellbeings.

These remarks came after he learnt of some longhouse chiefs who dared to cheat their own people by giving up the rights of their subordinates for certain lands merely for immediate monetary gains.

He believed that such longhouse chiefs do not deserved to hold their positions as they had shown obvious selfishness to fulfill their own needs, rather than to think about the common benefits of their charges.

Irresponsible headmen could also caused complications and misunderstandings among the rural people as evidenced by one recent case that came to Tiong's knowledge about  residents at a longhouse who came to him for assistances after their lands were claimed had been encroached by a plantation company.

"They expressed their dissatisfaction and even claimed the government allowed the company to take over their lands. My investigation however revealed that a group in the longhouse JKKK (Village Security and Development Committee) had collaborated with the 'tuai rumah' to sell of the lands to the company without the residents knowing the deal," he added.