Malaysia (see also Philippines)
Government aims to reduce reliance on foreign workers
The government is asking help from employers to reduce the country’s dependency on foreign workers, whose numbers have reached three million. The Star quoted Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar as saying, “We want the demand for foreigners totally scrapped.” The government earlier said the goal was to send home about 500,000 foreign workers by next year to encourage employers to hire locals. It has already announced that foreigners will be banned from taking frontline jobs in hotels and airports, although it has not been enforced yet. Criticisms surround the decision to reduce foreign worker dependency in the country. Many say the move is a disaster for industries and is insulting to the home countries of foreign workers.
Related to this, the Ministry of Human Resources is planning to introduce courses to train locals for domestic work and working in the service industry. Aside from skills training, courses on work ethics and culture will also be offered. The ministry earlier found that there are over 400,000 Malaysian jobseekers, but most of them do not have the education or skills to qualify for jobs. While most training courses cater to industrial workers, 60 percent of Malaysians work in the service industry.
Human Resource Ministry to review foreign worker policy
A review of the foreign worker recruitment policy may yield solutions to the excess of foreign workers in the country, according to the Human Resource Ministry. A number of employers have filed complaints to the ministry, claiming they were duped by several employment agencies. Some of the 260 foreign worker recruitment agencies hired laborers without securing jobs or contracts with companies and only started looking for jobs when the new recruits arrived in the country. Some also recruited more foreign workers than what was required and had to seek other jobs for the extra workers. The ministry said it will monitor these agencies and the number of new recruits they bring in. It is estimated that there are two million registered foreign workers in the country, while nearly one million are unauthorized.
In related news, the government is planning to merge the Home Ministry and Human Resources Ministry for foreign workers to avoid overlapping of duties and to address labor issues. The Home Ministry handles approvals for bringing workers into the country, and the Human Resources Ministry oversees the welfare of the workers. A single ministry is envisioned as a possible solution to reduce foreign worker issues.
Unauthorized migrants nabbed
Police arrested 86 suspected unauthorized migrants in Patri Jawa on 23 April during a regular operation carried out to round up immigration violators. The arrested immigrants – 64 Indonesians and 22 Bangladeshis – were found in factories and workers’ hostels. Muar police will question the arrested immigrants who will later be handed over to the Immigration Department.
Police also arrested 27 foreign workers at a hospital in Putrajaya, Peninsular Malaysia on the same day after they were found without valid work permits. The workers, who worked as cleaners for Hospital Serdang and were paid by a sub-contracting company, held work permits for the construction sector and domestic work industry while some were on social visit permits. Hospital management will be charged with hiring violations.
Foreigners wallow in jails due to inefficiency
Over 400 foreigners all over Malaysia are still in jail after they have done their time, and many are blaming the Prisons and Immigration departments for it. Prison officials reportedly often delay notifications and fail to inform the immigration authorities of the schedule of release. However, the Prisons department has also pointed the finger at immigration authorities, saying their department is too slow when it comes to identifying the prisoners’ nationalities and handing over documents.
Foreign prisoners account for 33 percent of the prisoner population in Malaysia. About 90 percent of the 11,900 foreign prisoners are from Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Cambodia and Sri Lanka. Forty-two foreigners are on death row and 33 have been given life sentences.
More detention centers in Sabah
The government plans to build more temporary detention centers in Papar and Sandakan that will house thousands of unauthorized migrants. The Papar detention center will take in about 2,000 detainees while the Sandakan center will receive 1,500 at any time. The plan aims to solve the overcrowding problem in the current detention centers in Tawau and Menggatal, which have reached maximum capacity. The two centers are only able to house 1,500 and 2,000 immigrants, respectively.
PBS opposes IMM13 for Kuraman migrants
Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) urged the government to withdraw from issuing 366 unauthorized migrants in Kuraman with IMM13 permits and to deport them according to existing laws. PBS questioned the decision by the government to give migrants temporary residence permits, which will provide them access to education and health facilities. Its president, Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, said the move is equal to the government giving more recognition for “illegal immigrants” instead of the locals. He also said that if the people in Kuraman have been unauthorized migrants since 1985, action should have been taken against them, adding that they should be repatriated to their own government who could take care of them.
Malaysia grants visas for Indian priests and artists
India’s Hindu priests, artists and musicians will now have their visas and permits approved and renewed. The Cabinet agreed to allow and extend the services of these people, although for special categories only. The Cabinet wants locals to be trained by these people to reduce foreign worker dependency in the future. A proposal will be sent to the Home Ministry which seeks to allow priests to stay in Malaysia for five years, while three years will be given to temple musicians and six months for sculptors. Reports say Datuk Samy Vellu, the Malaysian Indian Congress President, appealed to the government to lift the ban on recruiting priests and artisans from India, saying that temples and gurdwaras in Malaysia needed 500 and 300 priests, respectively.
Women were cautioned about overseas jobs
Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Noraini Ahmad has warned women jobseekers to check company and employer backgrounds before accepting job offers so that they will not be duped into vice activities. She said several cases have been found where Malaysian women were deceived by their employers into carrying drugs on trips abroad.
Sources: “Giving them the skills to get jobs,” New Straits Times, 6 April 2008; “Free, but they’re still in jail,” New Straits Times, 7 April 2008; Nelson Benjamin, “Foreign workers to fall under one ministry?” The Star, 12 April 2008; Bernama, “Ministry to study policy on hiring foreign workers,” New Straits Times, 12 April 2008; Chuah Bee Kim, “Agencies told not to create foreign labour influx,” New Straits Times, 13 April 2008; “Malaysia wants to end reliance on foreign workers: report,” AFP, 15 April 2008; Deborah Loh, “Employers urged to hire more locals,” New Straits Times, 16 April 2008; AP, “Malaysia to stop using foreign workers, says minister,” The Jakarta Post, 16 April 2008; “Visa nod for Hindu priests, artisans and musicians from India,” The Star, 16 April 2008; “Flaw in foreign worker supply,” The Star, 17 April 2008; “Upcoming detention centres to house 3,500 more illegals: CM,” Daily Express, 18 April 2008; “6 new blocks to house illegals,” Daily Express, 20 April 2008; “PBS against granting IMM13 to Kuraman illegals,” Daily Express, 23 April 2008; “86 illegal immigrants rounded up in Muar,” The Star, 24 April 2008; Tan Sin Chow, “Jobseekers urged to check employers’ backgrounds,” The Star, 25 April 2008; “27 illegals working at hospital,” The Star, 26 April 2008