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?
Human Resources Deputy Minister Abdul Rahman Bakar warned that those who fail
to meet the deadline, which begins today, will be hauled to court and be blacklisted.
<p>The names of errant employers were furnished by the Indonesian embassy, which
had recorded 1,148 complaints from Indonesian illegal workers who claimed to
have been shortchanged by their employers.</p>
<p>Abdul Rahman also clarified a statement made by Human Resources Minister Dr
Fong Chan Onn earlier that only two companies were involved in the wage dispute.</p>
<p>"It actually involved 51 employers after we conducted a survey but only
two were named by the minister (earlier)," he told Parliament in a reply
to Wan Adnan Wan Mamat (BN-Indera Mahkota).</p>
<p>He said the ministry will tackle the issue with the assistance of the Labour
Department, adding that the process could take time due to several factors such
as the workers having returned to Indonesia or not having filed a complaint
with the department.</p>
<p>He explained that under the Employment Act, employers who fail to settle the
wages can be fined up to RM10,000.</p>
<p>He advised the Indonesian illegal workers to come forward to file an official
complaint or lodge police reports even though they may not have proof or record
of their employment.</p>
<p>Even though illegal workers are disallowed in the country, Abdul Rahman said
his ministry will assist them to obtain unpaid wages on "humanitarian grounds".</p>
<p><b>Don’t be ‘bloodsuckers'</b></p>
<p>Speaking to reporters later, he said the 51 local employers, whom he refused
to name, must pay the outstanding wages or provide reasons as to why they cannot
do so.</p>
<p>If they fail to pay, the ministry will recommend the concerned employers to
be blacklisted from hiring migrant workers in future, he said, adding that the
ministry would also not hesitate to make public the names of these employers.</p>
<p>Unable to provide an exact figure, the deputy minister said police reports
have been filed against ‘more than half’ of these employers.</p>
<p>He urged the employers to be responsible as Malaysian employers should not
be perceived by Indonesians as bloodsuckers.</p>
<p>In a supplementary question, Wan Adnan asked about the two companies referred
to by Fong and the status of their respective cases.</p>
<p>Responding, Abdul Rahman said the two companies were Sri Mega Jaya Sdn Bhd
and Abdul Malik Construction Company.</p>
<p>He said Sri Mega Jaya owed 90 Indonesian illegal workers a total of RM247,500
but RM95,00 has since been paid while the second company, owed 22 workers a
total of RM28,500 and the employer had cleared RM6,000 thus far.</p>
<p>His statement however contradicted Fong, who previously said Sri Mega Jaya
had paid RM500,000 to another sub-contractor who absconded.</p>
<p><b>More than 3,000 detained</b></p>
<p>In another development, Deputy Home Minister Tan Chai Ho said 3,116 illegal
immigrants had been arrested up to March 21 since a massive crackdown on illegal
immigrant was launched earlier this month.</p>
<p>There were also132 cases involving employers who had breached immigration laws
such as hiring, protecting and harbouring illegal migrants.</p>
<p>Out of the 132, 17 of these cases have been brought to court and the errant
employers fined a total of RM490,000.</p>
<p>Tan also disclosed that a total of 382,082 illegal immigrants, majority of
whom were Indonesians, had returned to their homeland under the amnesty period.
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