bangkit.net

Absolute power corrupts absolutely is a common cliché that has lost its warning and interpretation with our state authorities.  And this was reflected very much in the statement made by the Home Affairs Minister in the media where the NST ( Wed. Feb. 14, 2007) carried the headline as “Radzi:  Home Affairs to take charge of foreign workers”. The Minister stated that foreign workers will no longer come under the purview of the Human Resources Minister.

This move would mean that total power and control will now be with the Ministry of Home  Affairs where foreign labor is concerned.  And a bill is ready to be tabled in Parliament next month!  What discussions have been held with various communities?  A quick contact with some of the source countries revealed that they did not know about the bill.  If the citizens of the source countries are going to be affected and implicated by this coup led by Radzi, then should they not be consulted? 
The Home Ministry has already bungled the whole recruitment and placement of foreign workers.  There is absolutely no planning, no strategy, no foresight and no direction into the employment needs of the country.  Policies and recruitment have been on a continued adhoc policy.  But most of all there has not been any transparency on how decisions are made to recruitment and letters of demand to agencies; on MOU’s signed between Malaysia and source countries; on the approval given to over 32 companies to outsource labor; and no transparency to the bill that will be tabled.  The mess your Ministry has made is reflected in the large number of undocumented workers in the country where over and over the innocent workers have been arrested and abused but the real criminals have gone scot free.

But sadly, Minister, you seem to pride yourself to the fact that your biggest or best output will be the arrest of 40,000 undocumented workers (sic). And there is nothing to state how many traffickers of human persons especially of women and children will be punished; nor how many employers will be tried; nor agents who have made fast buck from the poor migrant workers and have cheated them will be made accountable.

Should not we be ashamed that we go after the most vulnerable group and hunt them down like a game for animals?  Have we become so inhuman that we find it most rewarding to arrest the 60,000 refugees ( now seen as illegal migrants) including children whose only crime is to flee their countries for fear of persecution and political repression?  Do you know how many traffickers and enforcement officers bank accounts have swelled because of your non transparent inhuman form of arrest and deportation especially to the Thai-Malaysia border?

But most of all why is your Home Ministry so strong willed in taking full control over the foreign workers?  Is it because there is a lot of money to be made through recruitment; through approvals for outsourcing?  Already the levy and service fees rake in billions of ringgit annually.  What does your Ministry know of workers rights and of labor demands and increasing the skills of workers?  Are you stating that the Home Ministry will deal with labor rights and labor disputes?

The recruitment and employment of foreign workers  is not just about the enforcement of the Immigration Act.  The migrant workers are not tourists nor visitors.  Migrant workers are here for work.  Thus it is all about labor.  It means the effective enforcement of the Employment Act, the Industrial Relations Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Workmen’s Compensation Act and many others.

Your Ministry does not have the expertise to enforce these Acts.  It is therefore ridiculous to see the migrant worker a purely a foreigner.  The migrant worker is recruited and brought to the country as a worker.  She is not a slave. And therefore his rights as a worker and as a human being come first.

Honorable Minister, let us not recruit anymore migrant workers if we cannot respect them as workers and as human beings. If we cannot do justice to the poor and the exploited, then we cannot call ourselves  a nation with morals. If we want to make money, then tap the rich and the wealthy, not the poor, the hungry and the vulnerable.  And finally, if we cannot pay decent wages to the worker before her sweat dries up, then set aside this hidden bill. But work towards a comprehensive Foreign Workers Act that will ensure protection of rights, justice and integrity.

We ask you to fight corruption, be transparent and build integrity.

Irene Fernandez

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TENAGANITA SDN BHD
Penthouse, Wisma MLS
No. 31 Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman
50100 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Tel: +603 2691 3691 / 2697 3671
Fax: +603 2691 3681
Email: tenaganita[at]yahoo.co.uk
Website: www.tenaganita.net