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?
However, Prime
Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his Australian counterpart John
Howard refused to be pressured into naming a deadline for the conclusion of negotiations
for a free trade agreement (FTA), which was expected to enhance trade and investment
between the two countries.
<P>Abdullah said that both he and Howard had not
decided when the negotiations could be concluded. </P><P>“But we are aware
that our respective officials are working hard on that,” he said, adding
that Malaysia, however, would like to see more investments from Australia in the
meantime. </P><P>“This is because a lot of Malaysians are already investing
in Australia.” </P><P>Howard, who heads a 12-man delegation that has been
in Malaysia since Wednesday on a three-day official visit, said it was important
for negotiations between the two countries “not to get hung up on a particular
time.” </P><P>“We have to do it methodically, as a hastily put together
FTA can often be counter-productive,” he said. </P><P>Besides trade and investment,
both prime ministers also spoke on the “legacy” of good ties enjoyed
in the field of education, with Abdullah promising to send more Malaysian students
to Australia. </P><P>They also discussed the current security situation in southern
Philippines and southern Thailand, the development in North Korea as well as the
political crisis in the Middle East, with particular focus on Iraq, and on the
necessity for more inter-faith dialogue between Christians, Muslims and Jews.
</P><P>Later, asked if the presence of foreign troops was contributing to more
violence in Iraq, Abdullah said that as the current chairman of the Organisation
of Islamic Conference (OIC), he was concerned over the latest spate of clashes
between the different factions in that volatile country. </P><P>“The continued
presence of American troops can pose a problem to many Iraqis. However, we hope
that the situation in Iraq as in other places can be resolved,” he said.
</P><P>“It will take time but it’s something that has to be worked on
with patience, with the stakeholders cooperating to ensure that continuing talks
can bring about an improved situation.”
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