BILATERAL ties between countries would get jeopardised if Malaysia continues to downplay cases of migrant workers getting abused while working here.
“It’s damaging our reputation.
The perpetrators must be identified and punished according to our labour laws.
“Migrant workers, documented
or not, must be protected by proper legislation. Even if they commit
immigration violations, it cannot be used as an excuse to not protect them
against errant employers.
“Nevertheless, Articles, 2, 5,
6 and 8 of the Federal Constitution grants various protections to the people,
citizens and non-citizens alike,” HELP University Faculty of Business, Economic
and Accounting/Institute of Crime and Criminology senior lecturer R Panier
Selvam told FocusM.
Yesterday, Free
Malaysia Today reported an Indian migrant worker’s tragic story of
being abused by his employers while working at a banana leaf restaurant in
Petaling Jaya.
Known as Velayutham, the man
from Tamil Nadu, alleged that his employers withheld his salaries and assaulted
him for small mistakes.
He also claimed one of his
colleagues had his hands burnt after threatening to report sexual abuse meted
out on the restaurant’s workers by the same employer.
Velayutham exposed the matter
during an interview with Indian actress Lakshmy Ramakrishnan, on Indian
entertainment channel Behindwoods Air.
Human Resources Minister Datuk
Seri M Saravanan, who participated in another interview with Lakshmy and
Velayutham, told them that a multi-agency task force had since raided the
restaurant and arrested one person for investigation.
The minister said he would
charge errant employers in the court of law but reiterated that it would be up
to the police to investigate the criminal allegations.
Touching on the matter, Panier
Selvam said both Malaysia and India enjoy a long-standing cordial diplomatic
relation, which must be maintained at all costs.
Crack the whip, overhaul
recruitment process
Despite the atrocity being
done by a handful of people, the academic stated that the entire Indian
Malaysian community and nation’s reputation have been tarnished.
“This subject had a large
audience, and the ramifications on innocent people such as visitors and
students must be considered. Malaysians living, working, studying or traveling
to India could be targeted,” Panier Selvam opined.
Offering solutions, Panier
Selvam urged the Government to consider making it compulsory for restaurant
owners to obtain certificates from authorised human rights body such as Human
Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), before running their businesses.
He added that organisations
such as Persatuan Pengusaha Restoran Muslim Malaysia (PRESMA)
and Persatuan Pengusaha Restoran India, Malaysia (PRIMAS)
should hold internal courses regularly to educate their members on workers’
rights.
“Migrant workers must also be
informed of their rights and the functions of relevant Government institutions
in addressing their rights – on both sides.
“And unscrupulous agents from
both countries must be identified and barred from recruitment services for life
— in both Malaysia and India,” Panier Selvam stated.
He added: “A multi-agency task
group, encompassing Human Resources Ministry, Immigration Department and police
should be established to develop a holistic approach to protect the welfare of
foreign employees, including undocumented ones.”
On related matter, North South
Initiative director Adrian Pereira claimed that the recruitment of migrant
workers from India was done in a questionable manner, with many of them having
their contracts substituted with terms and conditions which put them under
forced labour conditions.
“Why this continues until
today is very unfortunate. Even the Indian High Commission has failed terribly
to monitor and protect their own people,” he said.
On Velayutham’s case, Pereira
said it was not an isolated incident as many migrant workers in Malaysia were
suffering in silence.
“Just go to the restaurants
and you can see how they are overworked. Try talking to them and you will
realise that they are working under forced labour conditions.
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