Malaysia (see also Indonesia, Philippines)
The Cabinet Committee on Foreign Workers will hold a meeting on 24 March to discuss the country’s labor shortage problem as a result of the slow return of the Indonesian workers. Sources say the manufacturing, plantation, construction and services sectors are short of between 370,000 and 400,000 workers. Malaysia plans to recruit some 400,000 workers mainly from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Burma and Pakistan and, in addition, from Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Bangladesh, China, the Philippines, Cambodia and Laos. Meanwhile, the Gerakan Party wants a complete review of the policy on recruiting foreign workers and is seeking a reduction in the levy and other fees charged to workers and employers. It has also proposed that recruitment be done on a government-to-government basis to do away with recruitment agencies and middlemen.
Meanwhile, Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Bakar said that his ministry would recommend to the Home Affairs Ministry the blacklisting of all employers who fail to pay the wages of their foreign workers.
Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin urged Malaysians to be less dependent on foreign workers. The King told Parliament that more self-reliance can be achieved through enhancing automation in work processes and by encouraging the participation of locals in sectors dominated in the past by foreigners. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Badawi echoed the King’s concerns, saying said that the government has been encouraging investors to adopt high technology in industries and to hire more Malaysian workers.
Home Minister Datuk Azmi Khalid has announced that the government has authorized the recruitment of some 100,000 male Pakistani workers to help fill the void in sectors left by the repatriation of irregular migrants. Under the agreement reached on 17 March, Pakistani workers can be employed in all sectors, including construction, manufacturing and services. The compulsory induction course has also been waived to fast track the deployment of the Pakistanis. According to the Home Minister, a mechanism would be put in place to screen the workers for security reasons while random medical checks would be carried out on Pakistani workers for HIV/AIDS, gonorrhea, hepatitis B, tuberculosis and leishmaniasis. The government has chosen Pakistan to supply the country’s foreign manpower because of its extensive experience in providing workers to foreign countries. Pakistan also has an agency, the Overseas Employment Corporation, set up to manage and regulate its workers deployed abroad.
The palm oil industry in Beluran (Sabah) has attracted a great number of irregular migrant workers that its local population has been outnumbered by foreigners. Beluran MP Datuk Ronald Kiandee asked locals not to harbor the irregular migrants to avoid prosecution under the country’s immigration laws.
The Sabah Women’s Advisory Council is urging the state’s Immigration Department to impose stricter control over the issuance of social visit passes to foreign women from neighboring countries. According to the council, a number of women entering Sabah as tourists actually seek employment as guest relations officers (GROs) in night spots and get involved in vice activities. Immigration authorities in the peninsula are said to be having similar problems with women tourists from China, Russia and the Philippines. Meanwhile, immigration authorities in Sabah have found that entertainment outlet operators have been sending their foreign GROs to Lawas, in Sarawak, to have their passports endorsed to allow the women to continue working in the state.
According to the Health Ministry, irregular migrants from neighboring countries were responsible for bringing contagious diseases, such as dengue, malaria, fever and HIV/AIDS, into Sabah. Health Minister Datuk Dr. Chua Soi Lek said that to address the problem, the ministry has assigned medical personnel at all entry and exit points in the state to examine all arriving or departing foreigners. He also asked his ministry to coordinate with Philippine and Indonesian authorities to take the necessary measures to prevent the spread of such diseases through the movement of people.
Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud cautioned Sarawakans against making hasty changes in immigration rules that would allow peninsular Malaysians to travel to the state without any restrictions. Currently, peninsular Malaysians have to fill out immigration forms upon arrival in Sarawak and the state has the right to refuse them entry. According to the minister, the concept of integration is something that could not be implemented easily.
As of 31 March, Malaysia has detained over 4,000 irregular migrant workers, largely Indonesians, one month after implementing a nationwide crackdown on unauthorized immigrants. Malaysian courts have already convicted a total of 87 Indonesians, Indians, Bangladeshis, Thais and Chinese nationals for unauthorized entry and for use of expired work permits or forged documents. Out of this number, some 45 workers were ordered to receive one or two lashes of the cane. In the case of employers, restaurant owner Keu Kok Meng, 45, was fined 60,000 ringgit, for allowing 10 Indonesian women, with domestic worker permits, to work at food stalls in his restaurant. Two contractors, a Malaysian permanent resident and an Indonesian were ordered jailed for a month and fined 100,000 ringgit for hiring one irregular migrant each. Meanwhile, Iskandar Mirza Hassan, 43, supervisor of a cleaning firm, has pleaded guilty to hiring 11 Indonesian undocumented workers, including 10 women and one man. The court has fixed the sentencing on 28 March.
The Lahad Datu People Defense Corp (Rela) has confirmed that some Village Development and Security Committees (JKKKs) in Sabah have been harboring irregular immigrants. Rela members have discovered one hiding place with some 50 irregular migrants in a plantation in the Tungku area and believe that more plantations and companies are similarly hiding their migrant workers from detection under the current Ops Tegas. Meanwhile, only two foreigners were caught at the Jelan Petaling Central Market for not having valid travel documents. Irregular migrants have apparently been avoiding the area, which used to be a common meeting place among foreigners, due constant raids.
The Lebuan Sessions Court has sent a Korean snakehead to jail for human trafficking. The man, who had been arrested earlier this month for attempting to use Malaysia as a transit point for trafficking Chinese women into Europe, had been sentenced to 10 months in jail.
Meanwhile, Sarawak police arrested three suspected child smugglers on 23 March as the trio were about to board a Malaysia-bound aircraft with a four-year old boy and a one-month old baby girl. Immigration officials had alerted the police who found the children’s identification documents to have been tampered with. The children were turned over to the Social Welfare Department.
Peninsular Malaysia Manpower Department director-general Datuk Ismail Abdul Rahim announced the extension of the deadline for the orientation course for foreign workers with work permits from 31 March to 30 June. The move was taken in response to the appeal of employers’ associations, especially from the plantation and construction sectors, who could not meet the earlier deadline. Some 30,571 out of a total of 51,000 foreign workers with work permits had attended the course.
A security guard found Indonesian woman, Ani, hanged with a piece of cloth tied to a metal beam inside a toilet at the Tanah Merah immigration detention depot on 22 March. The woman who had worked as a domestic worker in Pasir Puteh was waiting to be deported to Indonesia.
Negotiations for the release of detained Malaysians
Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman said that the Sabah government has been negotiating with Indonesian authorities for the release of seven Malaysians currently detained on Pulau Runukan. The Malaysians were allegedly held across the border for entering Indonesia without valid travel documents. According to Musa, the Malaysians were regular travelers to Indonesia and only failed to bring the necessary documents during this trip.
Malaysia says arrested Thais are not Muslim militants
Kuala Lumpur has informed Thai authorities that the five Thai nationals arrested earlier this month at the Sentral railway station were not Muslim militants, as earlier suspected. Authorities believe that the detained Thais were simply irregular migrant workers. Thailand and Malaysia had earlier agreed to work together to suppress the activities of militant Muslims in Thailand’s southern provinces.
The pirates who abducted the three-member crew of a Japanese tugboat are allegedly demanding a ransom of $250,000 from Kondo Kaiji Co., the shipping company that owns the boat. Kondo Kaiji Co. had reportedly asked that the ransom be reduced to $100,000 but it was unclear what amount was agreed upon or if a ransom had actually been paid. The three were freed on 20 March. Meanwhile, Malaysian police have held four Thais and a Malaysian whose fishing vessel is believed to have been involved in the abduction.
The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry has issued guidelines for foreign-owed restaurants in Malaysia. Under the new rules, foreign-owned restaurants would be required to have a Malay business partner. The move is allegedly intended to protect local-run food establishments.
Former Vietnamese refugees hold homecoming in Little Saigon
It was a nostalgic homecoming for some 142 former Vietnamese refugees who visited Pulau Bidon on 21 March. Pulau Bidon, fondly called “Little Saigon," had provided temporary asylum to about 245,000 Vietnamese from 1975 to 1991. The group witnessed the unveiling of a plaque in a newly-built memorial for their dead countrymen. Another 80 former refugees visited Pulau Redang to pray for those who died in the flight from Vietnam to Malaysia.
Bangladeshi expatriates in Kuala Lumpur have accused the Bangladesh High Commission in Malaysia as being riddled with corruption. Visitors to the mission allegedly do not get the services they need if they do not pay bribes. Sources said that a Bangladeshi worker who wants to renew his passport must pay officials between 10 and 500 ringgits as bribe or else the processing would take months to complete.
According to Education and Research Association for Consumers Malaysia secretary-general T. Inderani, there are over 20,000 Indian women in the rural areas of Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Perak and Kedah, who do not have identity cards or marriage certificates. As such, these women encounter numerous problems when registering the birth of their children or when enlisting them in schools.
There is a proposal to provide better benefits for workers, such as longer maternity leaves and access to specialist medical care, to entice more Malaysian women to join the workforce and reduce the country’s dependence on foreign workers. The government is considering increasing the maternity leave from the current 60 days to 90 days and introducing a maternity benefit fund under the Social Security Organization.
Sources: Arman Gunsika, “Health Ministry: Illegals bring diseases to Sabah," Borneo Bulletin, 15 March 2005; Rosnazura Idrus, “He’s the first:…but it’s no honour," New Straits Times, 16 March 2005; Alex Ong, “Migrant workers needlessly charged for return," malaysiakini.com, 16 March 2005; AP, “Illegals to be whipped in M’sia," Borneo Bulletin, 16 March 2005; AP, “Jail and caning for 45 illegal workers," New Straits Times, 16 March 2005; AP, “KL caning 45 illegal foreign workers," The Manila Times, 16 March 2005; AP, “Malaysia to cane 45 foreigners," Taipei Times, 16 March 2005; “Foreigners outnumber locals in Beluran: Kiandee," Daily Express, 16 March 2005; Annie Freeda Cruez, “Labor shortage: Acute labor pains," New Straits Times, 17 March 2005; Charanjeet Kaur, “Firm admits employing 11 illegals," The Star, 17 March 2005; Vinod Krishna, “Allow refugees to work," malaysiakini.com, 17 March 2005; V. Shuman, “Charged with hiring illegals," New Straits Times, 17 March 2005; AFP, “Malaysia’s migrant crackdown backfires on economy," 17 March 2005; AP, “KL begins prosecuting employers of illegal workers," The Manila Times, 17 March 2005; AP, “Malaysia begins prosecuting employers of illegal workers," Borneo Bulletin, 17 March 2005; AP, “Malaysia turns migrant heat on bosses," The Standard, 17 March 2005; “JKKKs protecting illegals, says Rela," Daily Express, 17 March 2005; “Special meeting to zero in on labour shortage problem," The Star, 17 March 2005; Leslie Andres, “Pakistani workers to fill vacuum left by illegals," New Straits Times, 18 March 2005; Royce Cheah, “Azmi: Recruitment of Pakistanis to ease labour shortage," The Star, 18 March 2005; Arman Gunsika, “JKKKs found harbouring illegals amid Ops Tegas," Borneo Bulletin, 18 March 2005; AFP, “Malaysia to hire 100,000 Pakistanis to plug labour vacuum," 18 March 2005; “Taib: Don’t be hasty on immigration rules," Daily Express, 18 March 2005; “Women are abusing visit passes," Daily Express, 18 March 2005; Jane Ritikos and M. Krishnamoorthy, “Induction course waived so Pakistanis can start work earlier," The Star, 19 March 2005; AP, “KL recruiting Pakistanis to fill labor gap," The Manila Times, 19 March 2005; “Pakistan ready to supply workers to Malaysia," The Star, 19 March 2005; “Thais, Malaysians detained in Japanese tugboat attack," The Manila Times, 19 March 2005; Press Trust of India, “Malaysia to hire workers from India, Pak," Hindustan Times, 20 March 2005; “Corruption rife at Bangladesh mission in Kuala Lumpur," The New Age, 20 March 2005; “Gerakan suggests lower hiring fees," Daily Express, 20 March 2005; “Other countries remain hopeful of supplying labour to Malaysia," The Star, 20 March 2005; Hamidah Atan, “Mechanism in place to screen Pakistani workers," New Straits Times, 21 March 2005; Hamidah Atan, “Medical tests for Pakistani workers," New Straits Times, 21 March 2005; Annie Freeda Cruez, “Malaysia to rely on five nations for labour needs," New Straits Times, 21 March 2005; Eileen Ng, “‘Review foreign workers’ system’: Gerakan," New Straits Times, 21 March 2005; K. Suthakar, “Ex-refugees hold prayers, Vietnamese group remembers dead countrymen," The Star, 21 March 2005; “Call to review foreign workers system," New Straits Times, 21 March 2005; “Thorough vetting for Pakistani workers," New Straits Times, 21 March 2005; K. Suthakar, “‘Little Saigon’ in bad shape," The Star, 22 March 2005; “Emotional homecoming for refugees," New Straits Times, 22 March 2005; “King: Cut reliance on foreigners," Daily Express, 22 March 2005; “King: Rely less on foreign workers," New Straits Times, 22 March 2005; “Korean jailed for human trafficking," New Straits Times, 22 March 2005; “Over 20,000 Indian women have no documents," The Star, 22 March 2005; “Pakistani workers to be screened for leishmaniasis," The Star, 22 March 2005; Bernama, “Employers who fail to pay salary to foreign workers to be blacklisted," 23 March 2005; Kyodo, “Pirates demanded $250,000 for safe return of tugboat trio," The Japan Times, 23 March 2005; “We cannot rely on foreigners forever: PM," Daily Express, 23 March 2005; “Child smuggling racket busted," New Straits Times, 24 March 2005; “Indon woman found hanged," The Star, 24 March 2005; Bernama, “June 30 extended deadline for foreign workers orientation course," 25 March 2005; “Malay order for foreign restaurants," The Standard, 25 March 2005; Arman Gunsika, “7 Malaysians detained for illegal entry into Indonesia," Borneo Bulletin, 28 March 2005; “Illegals staying away from area due to raids," New Straits Times, 28 March 2005; “Government to woo women workers," The Star, 29 March 2005; “Thais arrested in Malaysia ‘not Muslim militants’," BBC News, 29 March 2005; AP, “KL detains over 4,000 illegal workers in first month of crackdown: Report," The Jakarta Post, 30 March 2005; “Why we still rely in foreign workers," New Straits Times, 30 March 2005; “‘Lawas exit’ ploy on foreign GROs," Daily Express, 31 March 2005