For Immediate Release 26th Feb 2024: Statement by Independent Migrant Worker Rights Specialist Andy Hall on Joint KDN, KSM and MAPO Operation to Rescue More Destitute and Stranded Victims of the Alleged Criminal Syndicate Trafficking Workers from Bangladesh for Forced Labour in Malaysia (includes updated stories on the ‘Cheras’ case)
Andy Hall’s Statement:
I welcome the apparently prompt and decisive joint investigation by KDN, KSM and MAPO into my recent 23rd Feb 2024 complaint to Malaysian authorities, as publicised by the Malaysian media, regarding more victims of an alleged criminal syndicate trafficking Bangladeshi workers into Malaysia for forced labour who were left stranded and destitute in Cheras (see below for background media reports).
I applaud the joint operation which has followed this investigation, undertaken today, by Malaysia’s Ministry of Home Affairs (KDN/Immigration Department of Putrajaya), officers of the National Strategic Office of the Council for Anti-Trafficking in Persons (NSO MAPO) and the Ministry of Human Resources (KSM) (see below for media reports and official statement on todays operation).
I welcome the prompt rescue of and support to more of these allegedly traumatized and destitute, stranded victims of the alleged criminal syndicate trafficking Bangladeshi workers into Malaysia for forced labour.
These particular victims from Cheras area of Malaysia were reportedly today taken to JIM Putrajaya for documentation before being brought before a Magistrate to obtain a 21 day Interim Protection Order (IPO) as potential victims of human trafficking.
I hope that as a result of this operation and the ongoing investigations being undertaken jointly by KSM, MAPO and KDN that the victims in this Cheras abuse case will be fully compensated for their immense sufferings, akin to a situation of alleged forced labour, during the past months both in Bangladesh and Malaysia.
These workers were deceived into paying exorbitant recruitment fees in Bangladesh for non-existent full time jobs in Malaysia, to be paid at minimum wage levels. They should therefore be fully compensated at minimum wage levels for months spent waiting for a non existent job that was promised to them.
They should in addition have all recruitment costs and related fees paid by them in Bangladesh fully returned to them, with interest.
In addition, these workers should also be fully compensated for their suffering from the destitution that they have experienced as a result of their unemployment and isolation, as mentioned, akin to a situation of forced labour.
It is hoped these victims will also promptly be provided meaningful employment and be rehired by a responsible employer in decent work so that they can rebuild their lives and ensure their migration experience from Bangladesh to Malaysia is eventually a fruitful and positive one. These victims want work and rehabilitation, and not shelter and charity.
These potential human trafficking victims should also be treated humanely during their involuntary and imposed detention under the 21 day IPO in a government shelter. They should be fed properly, housed adequately and be given the freedom to communicate with the outside world and their families regarding their ongoing ordeal.
These alleged victims should not be repatriated against their will back to Bangladesh, as often happens to potential victims of human trafficking in Malaysia following the frequently failed and ineffective investigations into the alleged perpetrators of trafficking offenses committed against them.
I would like to encourage KDN, KSM and MAPO to promptly share the outcome of the investigation into human trafficking in this particular Cheras case within 21 days to the public or interested parties without first revoking the victim’s IPO and/or repatriating them involuntarily back to Bangladesh in debt or destitution.
In the event if KDN, KSM and MAPO do consider following investigation that this Cheras case is perhaps not a human trafficking case, the victims should be fully compensated anyhow, including with all their expenses spent to migrate to Malaysia and for lost wages and suffering (as mentioned above) before any involuntary repatriation to Bangladesh.
I do believe prosecution and enforcement of the newly introduced offense of forced labour (under s90B of the revised Employment Act 1955) and/or human trafficking in this case will however set an important precedent and have a deterrent impact for the better.
The newly introduced section 90B of the Employment Act 1955, concerning the offence of forced labour, prescribes a maximum fine of MYR 100,000 or imprisonment of up to 2 years or both for deceiving a worker and preventing them from proceeding beyond the place where their employment activity is done.
Even if workers in this case were not provided with any work at all, they have limited freedom of movement and essentially have been prevented from removing themselves from the control and authority of bogus employers, agents and middle men. Wrongs have been committed by various parties in subjecting the workers to conditions akin to forced labour, which should be prosecuted under section 90B.
Additionally, the Director-General of Labour has the power to summon and inquire into this offence pursuant to section 79 of the employment act and to institute criminal proceedings against offenders. Under section 87, the court more importantly may direct that a fine received under this Act be paid to the complainant as compensation.
Since Malaysia ratified the Forced Labour Protocol in March 2022, provisions in section 90B were designed for precisely the form of exploitation seen in this Cheras case. The Employment Act procedures are efficient and simple. Yet instead, complex and time consuming processes pursuant to trafficking legislation are frequently pursued, and will reportedly be pursued also in this case, according to the ministerial statement today.
One must question whether such human trafficking investigations are put on for political show or whether they are genuine and the most productive way ahead in these situations.
Usually in such trafficking cases, foreign workers are detained involuntarily in isolated shelters under temporary IPOs and then deported without remedy or compensation as prosecutions fall apart. This is not what most destitute victims of the current organised crimes syndicate have said they want in remedy to their distressing predicament.
Victims in stranded foreign worker cases, like the Cheras case, have stated that they need only a decent job and compensation, which can be provided to them through utilising s90B of the Employment Act. These victims have said they do not want to be further detained and/or deported in response to their situation. They do not want to be labelled as ‘trafficking victims’ if negative consequences result from this situation.
It is also important that decisive enforcement action is urgently taken, in line with upholding the rule of law and to address systemic impunity and corruption in foreign worker management in Malaysia at this time, both by KDN, MAPO, KSM and the Bangladeshi authorities.
This enforcement should be taken both against Malaysian employers, bogus Malaysian employers and outsource agents, recruitment intermediaries and corrupt officials both in Bangladesh and Malaysia who, like in this Cheras case, have been and continue to be complicit in Bangladeshi worker’s sufferings and who continue to reap profits from an active criminal syndicate trafficking Bangladeshi workers into forced labour in Malaysia.
The perpetrators of the abuses against workers, like in today’s Cheras case, certainly should be subject to due process and penalised if found guilty. But any government investigation in this case and in others needs to move beyond immediate employers and recruiters to also investigate and take action against the organised crime syndicate trafficking Bangladeshi workers like these into Malaysia for forced labour (Related story – FMT 30th Dec 2023: Migrants being duped into Malaysia because of govt’s failure to curb criminal trafficking syndicates and organised crime network, says activist Andy Hall)
The Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission and all law enforcement agencies involved in corruption, organised crime and money laundering in the country need to also be brought into such an investigation. This would contribute to strengthening the rule of law and cracking down on systemic corruption, impunity and criminal syndicates that pervade migrant worker management processes across the country.
In addition, the enforcement action proposed in the joint ministerial statement today is focused on the employer – presumably a company. Both recruiters and hiring employers are jointly or severally responsible for the offences against the workers as the offences could not have occurred without their collusion.
It is also critical that directors, managers and officers of companies involved be jointly or severally charged of related offenses and blacklisted as per section 101B of the Employment Act 1955. It is insufficient to merely blacklist legal entities or companies.
Regarding an effective response to the current crisis of deceived and stranded foreign workers in Malaysia, the Ministers both also need to ensure that the response outlined in the Cheras case today also leads to established operating procedures for future responses by district level enforcers who receive complaints of or detect similar rights violations most frequently on a daily basis.
More proactive enforcement action is needed, and proactive investigation of conditions of foreign workers against all past foreign worker quotas issued is now essential and urgent.
The Cheras case is not a unique case. We have seen similar responses by KDN and KSM in the Pengerang case a few weeks ago. The positive response to this case by the ministers as outlined in their joint statement today, subject to the above concerns, needs to be replicated by officers in similar cases currently impacting 100,000s of victims of this organised crime network or syndicate that continues to traffick foreign workers into forced labour in Malaysia.
I suspect that there may at this time be many more than 100,000 victims of this active alleged criminal syndicate trafficking Bangladeshi workers for forced labour in Malaysia. Many more rescue operations and much more law enforcement activity is essential urgently if inroads are to be made in tackling the systemic corruption, impunity and undermining of the rule of law that is currently seen in Malaysia’s management of foreign workers and migration, of which this alleged criminal syndicate trafficking Bangladeshi victims for forced labour in Malaysia is just one small but significant part.
It remains concerning also, however, that even in the Pengerang case, workers still remain uncompensated, despite a landmark RM1.1m court order against their employer. Compensation needs to be getting into workers pockets urgently. And workers urgently need jobs. More can be done to ensure workers get the compensation they deserve and the jobs they need.
Todays events demonstrate some initial commitments by the Malaysian government to strengthen foreign workers’ welfare protections nationwide, enforce the rule of law and crack down on systemic corruption, impunity and criminal syndicates that currently pervade migrant worker management processes across the country. I repeat again therefore that; in my opinion, these developments are most welcome.
26th February 2024: FMT – Stern action against company that duped Bangladeshi workers in Cheras
Original Article: FMT by FMT Reporters 26th February 2024
Ninety-four left without jobs, adequate food or proper living quarters.
PETALING JAYA: The company in Cheras which recruited 94 Bangladeshi workers but failed to provide them with jobs will face severe legal repercussions.
Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and human resources minister Steven Sim said the company that brought the workers to Malaysia last November had “abandoned” them and did not provide them with proper living quarters or adequate food.
“Decisive action will be taken by both ministries against the employers,” Saifuddin and Sim said in a joint statement.
“Employers who hire foreign workers must always take care of their welfare and make sure they comply with national legal standards.”
The migrant workers were taken to the Putrajaya immigration department to be documented before being brought before a magistrate to obtain an interim protection order.
Saifuddin and Sim agreed that the employers must face legal action under the Immigration Act 1959/63 for holding the workers’ passports, and the Employment Act 1955 for failing to pay them.
They will also face charges under the Employees’ Minimum Standards of Housing, Accommodations and Amenities Act 1990 for failing to provide proper accommodation, and will be investigated under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act (Atipsom) 2007.
Apart from cancelling their remaining quotas for foreign workers and their approval letters, the employers will be blacklisted from applying for foreign workers in the future, they said.
FMT reported that the workers had paid recruitment fees of between RM19,500 and RM21,700 to secure employment in Malaysia, where they were promised good living facilities and high-paying jobs.
Three of the workers interviewed by migrant labour rights activist Andy Hall said payment of the recruitment fees had pushed them into debt bondage as they had to borrow heavily.
They said their passports were confiscated upon arrival, and they suffered physical and verbal abuse. In addition, they were subjected to death threats by a man who picked them up at the airport.
The report said the workers lived in a confined space with only one toilet. They received inadequate food of mostly rice, lentils and mashed potatoes, with one worker claiming not to have been given food for up to four days after asking for updates on his job situation.
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Bernama 26th Feb 2024 – Home, HR ministries: Firm facing legal action for abandoning 93 Bangladeshi workers brought into Malaysia last year
Original source: malaymail – 26th February 2024
Pembinaan Ricoler Sdn Bhd is facing legal action by the Home Ministry (KDN) and the Human Resources Ministry (KSM) for abandoning 93 of its Bangladeshi workers brought into the country in November 2023.
Both ministries launched investigations and found that the workers were abandoned without work or accommodation by their employer following online media reports on Feb 22.
“The employer also failed to ensure the welfare of its workers in terms of accommodation and meals,” Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Human Resource Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong said in a joint statement here today.
The rescued workers were brought to the Putrajaya Immigration Department for documentation process before taken to the magistrate to obtain interim protection orders, they said, and the employer is facing six charges, including under the Employees’ Minimum Standards of Housing, Accommodations and Amenities Act 1990, the Employment Act 1955, Section 12 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 and the Passport Act 1966.
“Finally our ministries are issuing a stern warning to all employers who hire foreign workers to always maintain their welfare and to comply with the laws of the country,” they added.
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27th February 2024: Malaysian firm probed for human trafficking after 93 Bangladeshi workers found abandoned
- A construction company allegedly brought the workers to Kuala Lumpur in November, only to leave them jobless and homeless for months
- An activist says dozens more people have yet to be rescued, in a case that highlights the risks that people from Bangladesh face when accepting jobs in Malaysia
Original source: SCMP by Hadi Azmi – 27th February 2024
Malaysian authorities are investigating a construction firm that allegedly brought in 93 Bangladeshi migrant workers, only to leave them languishing without jobs or accommodation, in a human-trafficking case that activists say could include employees who are yet unaccounted for.
The Ricoler Construction Company could face charges under several laws for failing to house its workers and pay them wages. It is also being probed for breaching anti-trafficking and anti-smuggling laws, which carry a 15-year prison sentence and fines.
The workers’ plight came to light after personnel from Malaysia’s immigration and anti-trafficking agencies on Monday rescued them from a shop in the Kuala Lumpur suburb of Cheras, where they had been stranded since November.
Malaysian police raid against illegal migrant workers fuels ‘xenophobic’ views
The Home Ministry and Human Resources Ministry released a joint statement saying the workers’ welfare had been neglected. “All rescued victims were taken to [the immigration department’s headquarters in] Putrajaya for documentation before being brought before the Magistrate to obtain an Interim Protection Order,” it said.
Migrant activist Andy Hall, who blew the whistle on the workers’ situation last Friday, said there were at least 50 more Bangladeshi workers from the same group that had yet to be rescued from the Cheras shop lot premises, located above a tyre workshop.
“These workers arrived at the location just a few days ago, and are managed by the same agent, it is alleged,” Hall wrote in a letter to the Malaysian authorities.
The incident follows another in December, when 171 Bangladeshi workers were arrested after they arrived at a police station in Pengerang, Johor, to file a report against their employer for leaving them in a similar predicament.
Malaysia is heavily reliant on migrant workers – particularly from Muslim-majority Bangladesh, partly because of the lower wages – and it has over the years recorded hundreds of human-trafficking cases committed by agents in both countries, who dupe would-be migrant workers with promises of work that turn out to be non-existent.
According to Hall, these workers pay a recruitment fee of as much as 21,700 ringgit (US$4,500) to come to Malaysia.
‘Desperate’ Indonesians risk abuse in Malaysia as they turn to illegal agents
On February 8, the 171 Bangladeshi migrant workers in Johor received a total of 1.03 million ringgit (US$215,500) in unpaid wages from their employer after their case was heard before a labour court.
Hall, however, noted that these workers had yet to receive their compensation despite the court order against their employer. “Compensation needs to get into the workers’ pockets urgently,” he said.
According to data from the Department of Statistics, there were almost 2 million regular migrant workers employed in Malaysia in 2022, making up about 12.9 per cent of the total work force.
The country’s dependence on migrant workers has long been a sore point among locals, some of whom complain about the influx of migrant workers, especially in city centres.
Last Christmas, the government received flak after it detained more than 1,100 migrant workers in the heart of Kuala Lumpur in a raid that involved some 1,000 officers from the Royal Malaysian Police’s paramilitary wing, which is normally tasked with counter-insurgency and counterterrorism.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Minister of Economy Rafizi Ramli described Malaysia’s heavy reliance on migrant workers as a “structural failure” and a diversion from the country’s goal of achieving sustainable growth driven mostly by locals.
Cheras Construction Firm Will Not “JUST” be Blacklisted Over Abandoning 93 Foreign Workers
February 27, 2024
By Renushara
Source: Andy HallThe government has announced that they have blacklisted a construction firm in Cheras, after they were found to have recruited 93 Bangladeshi workers only to abandon them without jobs.
The construction firm also apparently disregarded the Bangladeshi workers’ welfare by not providing them with proper accommodation and sustenance (food and water).
Human Resource Minister, Steven Sim Chee Keong, took to his Twitter page to share a statement in regards to this, as well as to share the the many other punishments that apply.
He wrote, “Not just that, sir. There are 6 strict actions other than the ‘blacklist’.”
“For the Ministry of Human Resources, legal action under Act 446 and Act 265 will be taken. For the Ministry of Home Affairs, legal action under Act 670 and Act 150 will be taken. Act 670 is an anti-trafficking in persons Act.”
Only a blacklist?
This comes after many believed that the government had only blacklisted the company despite the human rights violations that come with their actions of recruiting and then abandoning the foreign workers without much regard for their well being.
“Pay (the foreign workers) compensation for their losses. Blacklisting is not enough.”
This allegedly comes after Independent Migrant Worker Rights Specialist Andy Hall brought to light a total of 104 foreign workers that had been abandoned in Cheras since last November (2023), after they had apparently paid up to RM21,700 in recruitment fees.
These foreign workers were also apparently promised high-paying jobs and good facilities.
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FMT 25th Feb 2024: More than 100 Bangladeshi migrants (possibly again alleged victims of the criminal syndicate trafficking Bangladeshis into Malaysia for forced labour) stranded in Cheras without jobs, says activist
The 104 migrant workers are believed to have paid recruitment fees of up to RM21,700 each to secure employment in Malaysia.
Original source: FMT by Jason Thomas – 25th February 2024
PETALING JAYA: More than 100 Bangladeshi workers have been without jobs since arriving in Malaysia in November, according to migrant labour rights activist Andy Hall.
Hall said the 104 workers had paid recruitment fees of between RM19,500 and RM21,700 to secure employment in Malaysia, where they were promised good living facilities and high-paying jobs.
He said they were recruited by a construction firm in Cheras.
Three of the workers interviewed by Hall said payment of the recruitment fees had pushed them into debt bondage as they had to borrow heavily to secure the fees.
In a report Hall prepared, one worker was quoted as saying: “I am running into a huge debt.
“I am unable to pay monthly instalments which I promised when I borrowed money from different sources, and lenders are threatening my family.”
The workers said their passports were confiscated upon arrival, and they suffered physical and verbal abuse. In addition, they were subjected to death threats by the man who picked them up at the airport.
The report said the workers live in a confined space with only one toilet for over 100 workers. They received inadequate food of mostly rice, lentils and mashed potatoes, with one worker claiming not to have been given food for up to four days after asking for updates on his job situation.
“Instead of receiving the promised jobs, they are left with no work and no income. This exacerbates their situation, pushing them further into debt and sadness,” said Hall.
FMT has sought comment from the human resources ministry.
Additional Reading:
Business Standard 18th Feb 2024: Bangladeshis pay much higher than peers (US$4500++) to reach Malaysia job market – syndicates, impunity and systemic forced labour
Malay Mail 8th Feb 2024 – Activists: Duped Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia sought RM2m in unpaid wages, but only got half(first reported compensation settlement for Bangladesh Malaysia organised crime syndicate victims being trafficked for forced labour in Malaysia)
See also: Related story – FMT 30th Dec 2023: Migrants being duped into Malaysia because of govt’s failure to curb criminal trafficking syndicates and organised crime network, says activist Andy Hall
See also: Malay Mail 8th Feb 2024: HR Ministry hails mediation outcome despite claims duped Bangladeshi workers were short-changed
See also: 8th February 2024: FMT – Bangladeshi workers win RM1mil in unpaid wages
See also: 7th Feb 2024: Bangla Tribune – Job trap in Malaysia, 733 Bangladeshis in salary uncertainty
See also: 6th February2024: Benar News – Malaysian Labor Court orders employers to pay Bangladeshi workers RM1 million in unpaid wages – first reported compensation settlement for Bangladesh Malaysia organised crime syndicate victims being trafficked for forced labour in Malaysia
See also: 16th January 2024: FMT – 751 duped Bangladeshi migrant workers in Pengerang case file RM2 million claim for unpaid wages resulting from situation akin to forced labour, stranded and destitute on arrival in Malaysia (includes comments by Andy Hall)
See also: 6th Jan 2024: FMT: Away from families, in debt, and jobless in a foreign land
See also: 6th Jan 2024: New Strait Times – Company that promised 171 Bangladeshi workers non-existent jobs blacklisted
See also: 5th Jan 2024: New Strait Times – MCA: Don’t just fine employers, hold ministry accountable as well for unemployed foreign workers
See also: FMT 30th Dec 2023: Migrants being duped into Malaysia because of govt’s failure to curb criminal trafficking syndicates and organised crime network, says activist Andy Hall
See also: 30th Dec 2023: New Strait Times – Recruitment agencies accused of deception as Bangladeshi victims speak out on exploitation and fear
See also: 29th Dec 2023: Malay Mail – Set up probe on exploitation of migrant workers and new ministry to manage their affairs, Suhakam tells Putrajaya
See also: 28th Dec 2023: New Strait Times – ‘Company involved in 171 Bangladeshi migrant worker scandal not licensed to recruit’
See also: 28th Dec 2023: FMT – Malaysia has entered ‘slave labour’ territory, says ex-MP – Charles Santiago calls for specific set-ups to manage migrant workers
See also: 27th Dec 2023: New Strait Times – MTUC demand govt, MACC probe into corrupt recruitment practices of foreign workers
See also: 27th Dec 2023: New Strait Times – Strict action against employers, agencies neglecting 171 Bangladeshi workers: MEF
See also: 27th Dec 2023: FMT – Bangladeshis duped over jobs are victims of human trafficking, says rights group
See also: 26th Dec 2023: FMT – Azalina wants urgent probe into 171 Bangladeshis duped over jobs
See also: 26th Dec 2023: FMT – High recruitment fees make greedy agents bring in workers, says group
See also: 25th Dec 2023: FMT – Probe recruitment agents, MACC told after arrest of Bangladeshis
See also: 25th Dec 2023: FMT – Human resources ministry comes to the rescue of Bangladeshi workers
See also: 25th Dec 2023: FMT – Cops nab 171 foreigners protesting lack of jobs in Johor
See also: 25th Dec 2023: The Star – Foreigners march to police station to complain about agent, get hauled up by Immigration Dept instead
See also: 5th Nov 2023: Malaysian HR Minister pledges nationwide operations concerning plight of Bangladeshi migrant workers in Malaysia following Andy Hall’s complaint letter to the OHCHR
See also: 30th Oct 2023: FMT: Andy Hall refers stranded Bangladeshi workers’ plight in Malaysia to UN Human Rights Council
See also: 19th Oct 2023: Malaysia facing huge excess of 1/4 million migrant laborers
See also: 21st Sep 2023: Malaysian government has 15 source countries for foreign workers – Comments by Andy Hall
See also: 20th Sep 2023: Rate of abused Bangladeshi workers’ entry into Malaysia worrying, says migrant rights activist Andy Hall
