Malaysia (see also Thailand)

Thai Muslims flee to Malaysia

Some 131 Thai Muslims, including 64 men, 24 women and 43 children, fled to Malaysia on 30 August to escape escalating violence in southern Thailand. The group sought shelter in the northeastern state of Kelantan. Foreign Minister Daruk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said Malaysia took in the Thai nationals on humanitarian grounds and the move should not be misconstrued as granting them refugee status.

Local leaders and villagers in Kelantan state fear that the exodus of Thais to Malaysia may bring about a major refugee problem. Kelantan police authorities kept a tighter watch across the porous border points for the possibility of more Thai Muslims slipping into the country. 

The UNHCR has completed its preliminary interviews with the 131 Thai refugees who are currently held at the immigration transit center in Tanah Merah. The UNHCR said it is helping the Malaysian government to collect background information and evaluate the general needs of the Thais.  However, some of those interviewed expressed fear that the ongoing investigations were being done merely to detect militants from the group. For its part, Malaysia is conducting a separate investigation into the claims of the Thais that their lives were at risk.  Initial results of its probe indicated that some of the 131 Thai Muslims may have been residents of Kelantan for almost a year while a number of them were also suspected to be on the Thai wanted list.  Investigators are also looking into the possibility that some of the refugees may be holding dual citizenship.  Malaysia does not recognize dual citizenship.

Thai Muslims, a dilemma for Malaysia

Malaysian Muslim political and religious leaders sent out an appeal to the Thai government to discontinue its hardline approach to the problem of insurgency in the southern provinces. The leaders urged Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to develop trust among the Muslim community instead of reacting with force.  They also offered to take in any refugee coming from the crisis.  Husam Musa, vice-president of Malaysia’s Islamic opposition party, PAS, warns that responding forcefully may trigger a mass migration of terrified Muslims from the south.  Nik Aziz Mat, spiritual leader of PAS and Kelantan’s chief minister, criticized Thailand’s policies concerning the south particularly the emergency decree that gives the government blanket authority.

Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is pushing for the granting of asylum to the 131 Thai Muslims. He adds that the conflict-ridden southern region of Thailand should be made into an autonomous state, a proposition that he has already made in the past during his term.  He said it was the only way to resolve the increasing violence.

The government is under pressure locally to humanely treat the Thai Muslims who sought refuge in Kelantan, but it also risks upsetting the Thai government. For Malaysia-Siamese Association president, Senator Siw Chun Eam, the close ties and long history between Malaysia and Thailand can help resolve the impasse involving the 131 Thais. The comments of Kelantan officials accusing Thailand of being high-handed in dealing with the unrest in southern Thailand offended the Thai government. 

Abusive employers, job brokers must be penalized: MTUC

The Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) has appealed to the government to go after employers and recruitment agencies that exploit and mistreat foreign workers.  MTUC president Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud expressed concern that the rising number of cases of worker exploitation and mistreatment is ruining the image of the country and that of Malaysian employers.

MCA not profiting from irregular migrants

MCA Public Services and Complaint Department head Datuk Michael Chong stressed that his office was principally formed to help the public and refuted allegations about profiting from helping irregular migrants.  He explained that the RM2,000 to RM3,500 his office asks migrants’ families to send is used to pay for a one-way ticket, airline processing fee, immigration fines for overstaying and other travel expenses.  He stressed that his department does not get anything from this service; at times it even pays the fees for those whose families are too poor to send money.

Bangladeshi workers win battle vs. employer

In line with the decision of the Malaysian High Court on 18 April in favor of the workers, 127 Bangladeshi laborers, most of them still working in Malaysia, will finally receive some RM20,000 each as compensation from the Chung Wah Plastic Co. for violation of job contracts.  The workers filed a case with the labor court in 1999 for the company’s failure to pay the agreed-upon increase in salary, overtime pay and other benefits stipulated in the job contract. The court ruled in favor of the workers but the employer filed a petition with the High Court Division challenging the verdict and threatening them to withdraw the case.  With the help of concerned NGOs, the workers finally won their legal battle.

Tourist rescues Filipinas from sex den

Robert Eden, a British tourist and businessman, rescued four Filipinas from a prostitution syndicate.  Eden was at a beach club in Kuala Lumpur when the Filipinas solicited him. When he realized that they were victims of human trafficking, he arranged to pick up the women from a condominium they were staying at and hid them in a hotel.  He then contacted the Philippine Embassy and arranged to have them sent home.  Immigration enforcement director Datuk Ishak Mohamad commended Eden saying that it had been the first time a tourist had tipped them off on vice activities.

20 irregular migrants nabbed

Some 92 people were rounded up following a raid at Likas Village and another 91 from two construction sites in Kota Kinabalu in police raids on 8 September. Among those held, 20 people, including 19 Filipinos and one Indonesian, were found to be irregular migrants. 

Recruiter abandons Vietnamese workers

Eighteen Vietnamese nationals had applied with a labor export company that belonged to the Import-Export Corporation (Coopimex) hoping to land jobs as construction workers in Malaysia.  The workers waited for a year for the processing to be completed.  When they finally arrived in Malaysia and having paid all the required fees, their agents abandoned them at the airport.  A go-between agency then lured the workers to work for private Malaysian companies not mentioned in their labor contracts. However, when their one-year work visas expired, the companies that hired them also left them to fend for themselves, leaving the Vietnamese workers with neither jobs nor visas.

Many Filipinos, Indons in Sabah jails

Wan Mohamad Nazarie, Prisons Department director of security, reported that the large population of foreign inmates is causing severe congestion in the country’s prisons, particularly in Tawau, Sandakan and Sungai Buloh. Of the 43,000 prisoners and detainees throughout the country’s prisons and detention centers, about 13,000 are Indonesians and Filipinos. At the moment, the government is building six more prisons and moral rehabilitation centers. 

India, Malaysia to sign MoU on recruitment

Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, E Ahamed, said that the proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on recruitment between Malaysia and India would benefit both employees and employers.  The need for an agreement came about due to the rising number of cases of Indians being defrauded by recruiting agencies.  The Indian government pledged that recruitment agents caught deceiving applicants with false promises of good-paying jobs abroad will be blacklisted and severely punished. 

Sources: Zuhrin Azam Ahmad, “Thais not given refugee status," The Star, 2 September 2005; AFP, “Malaysia detains 131 fleeing Thai Muslims," Arab News, 2 September 2005; Jalil Hamid, Reuters, “Fleeing Thais put neighbor Malaysia in tight spot," The China Post, 3 September 2005; Anis Ibrahim, “ Keep them safe," New Strait Times, 3 September 2005; Reuters, “Malaysia not to hand back Thai Muslims," Arab News, 3 September 2005;  “Cops find no more illegal entries by Thais," The Star, 3 September 2005;  AFP, “M’sia fears refugee exodus from southern Thailand," Borneo Bulletin, 5 September 2005; AP, “UNHCR to interview Thai Muslims detained in Malaysia," The Star, 5 September 2005; Agencies, “Refugee exodus looms," Bahrain Tribune, 5 September 2005; “Filipinos, Indons pack Sabah jails," Daily Express, 5 September 2005;  Minh Hung, “Vietnam workers in Malaysia ignored by labor exporter," Thanhnien News, 6 September 2005;  AP, “UN refugee agency to interview Thai Muslims detained in Malaysia." Borneo Bulletin, 6 September 2005;  “Refugees flee here to escape violence in Thai south," The Star, 6 September 2005; AFP, “M’sian Muslim leaders urge Thailand to soften tactics," Borneo Bulletin, 7 September 2005; Agencies, “India, Malaysia MoU on recruitment," Chennai Online News Service, 8 September 2005; Agencies, “Thai Muslims should be given asylum: Mahathir," Bahrain Tribune, 9 September 2005;  “20 illegals among 83 roped in," Daily Express, 9 September 2005; Halim Said, “Chong: We did not profit from helping illegals," New Straits Times, 10 September 2005;   “Diplomacy the best way to help refugees," The Star, 10 September 2005; AFP,  “Malaysia says Malacca Strait safe for ships, plays down attack fears," The Jakarta Post, 12 September 2005;  “UNHCR finishes quizzing detained Thais," The Star, 12 September 2005;  “127 Bangladeshi workers to get compensation," The Daily Star, 12 September 2005; Ridzwan Abdullah and Sharifah Mahsinah, “19 Thai illegals detained," New Straits Times, 13 September 2005; P. Selvarani, “MTUC: Bring errant bosses to book," New Straits Times, 13 September 2005;  Deborah Loh, “Four escape vice ring," New Strait Times, 14 September 2005;  “Some who fled Thailand on wanted list," The Star, 15 September 2005