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?
It is well known by now that the treatment of foreign workers, both legal and
illegal, in Malaysia by Malaysians falls short of many standards deemed acceptable
in any other developed country. Time and again we are treated to lurid accounts
of violence, intimidation, corruption and downright abuse meted upon foreign
workers by the members of the host community. It has become sadly commonplace
to hear about foreign workers having their passports taken away from them until
they have fulfilled their contract; foreign maids being locked up at home and
not allowed holidays; racial abuse in the streets, and sexual abuse in the homes
where the workers earn their wages.
<p>Not surprisingly, if and when such news is made public, it receives the attention
that is its due in the Malaysian Press – which is not exactly the freest
Press in Southeast Asia at the moment. Even less surprisingly, when such news
gets back to the home country of the workers themselves, it is often pounced
upon for reasons of a common national solidarity among co-nationals. This is
neither new nor unique to Indonesia: The South Asian Press is full of accounts
of Indian, Nepalese, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan workers being abused
in the Arab countries, Europe and North America. That is, after all, what the
Press is there for: to highlight news that is seen as relevant and of interest
to the readers and viewers.</p>
<p>It therefore comes as a surprise (well, not really) that Malaysia’s Information
Minister Zainuddin Maidin recently lamented what he regarded as the negative
role played by the Indonesian media in raising the issue of workers’ abuse
in neighbouring Malaysia. Minister Zainuddin was at Indonesia’s Padjajaran
University speaking at a conference commemorating fifty years of Malaysian-Indonesian
relations, which has taken a downward turn over the past few months thanks to
the issue of mistreatment of Indonesian workers.</p>
<p>While the minister may have a point when noting that the Malaysian government
has provided schools and education for the children of Indonesian workers in
Malaysia, he seems to have lost the point about Press freedom and the responsibility
of the media.</p>
<p>To suggest, as some Malaysian leaders have done, that the Indonesian Press
has deliberately stoked the flames of public outrage and anger by highlighting
the instances of workers’ abuse in Malaysia is pointing the finger of accusation
at the wrong party. If Malaysia, or any other country for that matter, does
not want to be seen and found guilty of mistreating its foreign workers, then
the responsibility falls squarely on the shoulders of the Malaysian government
to see to it that such abuses do not happen; and when they do, should be reported
and taken action against. Surely in cases like these the real culprits are the
Malaysian employers – be they companies or families – who have abused
their employees in the first place?</p>
<p>In a classic case of shooting the messenger for delivering the message, the
Malaysian government’s admonition of the Indonesian media serves no purpose
apart from shifting the blame of responsibility from the guilty to the bystander.</p>
<p>While emotions can and do run high when such reports make it into the public
domain, it would be nonsensical to expect the Indonesian media to keep silent
while cases of abuse in Malaysia continue to rise, inundating the Malaysian
courts with more and more unresolved cases.</p>
<p>Furthermore, would the Malaysian media not be doing the same if it were Malaysian
workers who were being cheated, abused, sexually assaulted, denied their papers
and exploited at will elsewhere in the world? And wouldn’t Malaysians have
every right to feel angry if their co-nationals were being mistreated abroad
too? The perennial edict ‘treat others as you would like them to treat
you’ comes to mind here.</p>
<p>After fifty years of Malaysian-Indonesian relations, surely we should have
moved from a politics of difference to the point of a politics of recognition:
One that sees the other not as a foreigner – alien and incomprehensible
– but rather a reflection of ourselves, with the same needs, wants and
aspirations, and the desire to be treated with dignity and respect.</p>
<p><b><i>Dr Farish A Noor is a Malaysian political scientist based at the Zentrum
Moderner Orient in Berlin, and visiting professor at Sunan Kalijaga Islamic
University, Jogjakarta.</i></b></p>
<p><i>Source: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/opinion/2007/July/opinion_July10.xml&section=opinion&col=</i>
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