Malaysia is one of Asia's biggest employers of foreign labour. But recently, cases of deaths, abuse and forced labour have come to light. What is going on? Who is protecting these migrant workers?
The Indonesians had boarded the bus in Kota Tinggi and were being sent to their
respective workplaces in the Klang Valley early Wednesday.
<p>Immigration director of enforcement Datuk Ishak Mohamed said the 35-year-old
driver and his 33-year-old co-driver had been detained for one week to assist
investigation.</p>
<p>The packed bus, which was travelling at 140kph, was stop-ped at 2.34am about
2km from the Ayer Keroh toll here.</p>
<p>Inside the non air-conditioned bus with sealed windows were 37 men and 24 women,
some sitting on their bags along the narrow passageway between the rows of seats.</p>
<p>Immigration checks found they did not have work permits and had entered the
country through the Tg Belungkor check point near Desaru be-tween Nov 11 and
Nov 21 using social passes.</p>
<p>Ishak said initial investigations showed that many of them had paid a tekong
in Indonesia three million rupiah (RM1,500) each for their trip here.</p>
<p>“We have reason to believe that they came here to work after Hari Raya,”
he told a press conference at the state’s home affairs complex in Ayer
Keroh here yesterday.</p>
<p>A bag containing Indonesian passports was found, with the agents’ codes written
on the back of the passports.</p>
<p>The passports also had stickers indicating the destinations and amount of money
to be collected from various employers in places such as Sungai Buloh, Bukit
Jalil, Cheras and Klang.</p>
<p>“We are looking for the mastermind, identified as Azmi from Kota Tinggi,”
said Ishak.</p>
<p>The case is being investigated under Section56(1) (A) (a) of Immigration Act
for the Indo-nesians and Section 56(1) (A) (c) of the same act for the two drivers.</p>
<p>He also said the same bus was believed to have sent 90 Indonesian workers from
Kota Tinggi to various employers a day earlier.
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