3rd June 2024 – Bangladeshi Migrant Worker Exploitation and Malaysian Labour Market Alleged Criminal Syndicate: The agencies picked by KL to blame, Bangladesh tells UN OHCHR
Dhaka wanted to allow all 1,520 licensed recruiting agencies to send manpower to Malaysia, but Kuala Lumpur selected only 101 agents, which industry insiders say are involved in manipulation and exploitation of workers from Bangladesh.
Original Source: The Daily Star by Porimol Palma – 3rd June 2024
Say industry insiders; Dhaka tells UN experts it wanted more competition
In response to a letter by four UN experts on March 28, Bangladesh’s Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva said Bangladesh and Malaysia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on December 19, 2021, for labour recruitment.
In pursuance of the MoU, the Malaysian human resources ministry wrote to the Bangladesh’s expatriates’ welfare ministry on January 14, 2022, regarding selection of 25 Bangladeshi recruiting agencies.
In response, the expatriates’ welfare ministry on January 18, 2022, wrote to the Malaysian ministry requesting it to keep the opportunity open for all the licenced Bangladeshi recruiting agencies.
See also: Daily Sun 3rd June 2024: Recruiting agencies never made accountable
Malaysia has closed its market to Bangladeshi workers at least three times in the last 15 years.
This is a good summary of the third successful attempt of the criminal syndicate to extort and abuse, three times already. And the fourth time? see HERE.
“The hon’ble minister flagged that this open opportunity would ensure transparency and fairness compatible with the relevant International Labour Organization (ILO) standards as well as the Competition Commission Act, 2012, of Bangladesh,” said the letter from Bangladesh permanent mission.
In a joint working group meeting on March 20, 2023, Bangladesh stressed the same request. In reply, Malaysia increased the number of recruiting agencies from 25 to 101 as per their choice and mandate, including state-owned Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Ltd, it added.
The issue of recruiting foreign workers in Malaysia came to the fore again as there have been numerous reports of joblessness, indebtedness and other forms of exploitation in Malaysia, which halted the foreign workers recruitment on May 31.
Between August 2022 and May 2024, about five lakh Bangladeshi workers went to Malaysia. UN experts in their letter to Bangladesh and Malaysia said the Bangladeshi migrants had to pay $4,500 to $6,000 as recruitment fees.
SCMP 3rd June 2024: ‘Nothing left for me’ as thousands of Bangladeshi workers lose everything in failed bid to work in Malaysia
Daily Star Editorial 3rd June 2024: Must our migrants pay the price every time?
Prothomalo 3rd June 2024 – Bangladesh Labour market: Hapless workers lose all vying to go to Malaysia
They even wrote about the bribes in recruitment process involving the Malaysian government officials, agents, and even Bangladesh high commission in Malaysia.
They called for measures to protect the thousands of Bangladeshi workers who face destitution and risk detention. They also enquired about the measures both the countries were taking regarding bilateral cooperation, policies, and investigations to improve the migrants’ situation.
With none of the countries responding in 60 days, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights made public the letters on May 27. Later, Malaysia’s Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva replied on May 28 and the Bangladesh mission the next day.
Among other things, Bangladesh mentioned how Malaysia played the role in selecting the 101 Bangladeshi recruiting agencies.
Recruitment industry insiders alleged that those who could pay hefty sums to leaders of the syndicate of 101 agencies were selected for the recruitment job.
The Bangladesh mission said the recruitment process and procedures had been agreed upon centred on an online-based system — Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS), which is developed and operated by the Malaysian government.
“As a result, there should be no scope for sending any Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia using false employment visas,” the letter said.
According to Malaysian media, controversial IT company Bestinet is contracted by the Malaysian government to maintain the FWCMS.
Industry insiders said Bestinet President Aminul Islam Abdul Nor is a key figure behind the foreign workers’ recruitment syndicate and manipulation.
The letter of Bangladesh to the UN experts says in the initial stage of the labour recruitment in August 2022, Bangladesh High Commission in Malaysia used to inspect the employer companies before attesting the job demand letters — an exercise meant to verify the genuineness of the jobs.
Later, the high commission suspended the process as the Malaysian foreign ministry officially requested the Bangladesh mission not to conduct such company inspection saying the matter fell under the jurisdiction of the competent Malaysian authorities, the letter mentions.
In joint working group meetings, Bangladesh raised the issue of non-placement of newly migrated Bangladeshi workers and requested the Malaysian authorities to take necessary remedial actions.
The letter added that Malaysia’s Department of Labour (DoL) has prohibited 48 employers from recruiting foreign workers, including from Bangladesh.
In the letter, Nadzirah Osman, Malaysian permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, said the DoL relocated 1,664 foreign workers in 2023 and 910 workers this year to new employers.
It said Malaysia restricted the entry of foreign workers in the formal sector since May 31 to close the loopholes of exploitation and allow the government to reassess the country’s foreign workers’ needs.
She reaffirmed Kuala Lumpur’s commitment to protect the rights of migrant workers in the country.
31st May 2024: Malaysian Govt reaffirms commitment to protect migrant workers’ rights to UN
Original Source: FMT by FMT Reporters – 31st May 2024
alaysia responds to a letter from the UN on allegations of fraudulent recruitment of Bangladeshi migrant workers by a criminal network.
PETALING JAYA: The government has reaffirmed its commitment to protect the rights of migrant workers in the country in response to a letter from the United Nations (UN) on March 28.
The response was sent on Tuesday to Beatriz Balbin, chief of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) special procedures branch, by Malaysia’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, Nadzirah Osman.
“We assure you that Malaysia remains committed to protecting the rights and well-being of migrant workers,” Nadzirah said.Nadzirah Osman.
She added that the response included a supplementary document that outlined the measures taken by the government to combat exploitation and human trafficking.null
It was reported on Tuesday that the government had not yet responded to a letter from the UN regarding allegations of fraudulent recruitment of Bangladeshi migrant workers by a criminal network.
In the letter, four UN experts said they were concerned about the deceptive practice of fake companies recruiting workers from Bangladesh, purportedly for employment in Malaysia.
They highlighted issues such as debt bondage, ill-treatment, and exploitation of migrant workers, all of which aligned with forced labour indicators established by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
In her response, Nadzirah cited the landmark case of 733 Bangladeshi migrant workers who were awarded more than RM1 million in unpaid wages after being duped, as evidence of the government’s ongoing efforts to uphold migrant workers’ rights.
In the case cited, as of May 17, some 692 of the 733 affected workers had been placed with new employers through the Johor labour department.
Nadzirah also mentioned other measures taken by the government, including regular business inspections, blacklisting employers based on labour department recommendations, regulating recruitment agencies, and addressing complaints made at labour department offices or through the Working for Workers (WFW) mobile application.
She added that the labour department has also undertaken to rescue and relocate foreign workers who have been exploited by not being given proper jobs, salaries, or adequate accommodation by their employers.
“In 2023, the labour department relocated 1,664 foreign workers to new employers. As of April this year, 910 foreign workers have been relocated to new employers,” Nadzirah said.
She also stressed that the government is committed to addressing issues highlighted by the UN comprehensively.
28th May 2024: FMT – Malaysia yet to respond to UN concerns on alleged criminal syndicate trafficking Bangladeshi migrant victims for forced labour in the country (with my full statement included)
Original Source: FMT by Jason Thomas – 28th May 2024
Experts call on Malaysia to fulfil its international obligation to protect migrant victims from human rights abuses.
UPDATE: Malaysia finally responds to OHCHR accusations on alleged criminal syndicate trafficking Bangaldeshi migrant workers for forced labour in Malaysia
Full response available: HERE
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has yet to respond to a letter from the United Nations (UN) regarding allegations of fraudulent recruitment of Bangladeshi migrant workers by criminal networks.
The previously confidential communication, now available online, is said to have gone unanswered for 60 days.
In a March 28 letter addressed to Malaysia’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, four UN experts said they were concerned about the deceptive practice of fake companies recruiting workers from Bangladesh, purportedly for employment in Malaysia.
The letter claimed that the workers were forced into paying exorbitant recruitment fees, pushing them into debt bondage.
The experts noted that, on arrival, many Bangladeshi migrant workers find that jobs previously promised to them are non-existent. The workers’ plight then forces them into overstaying their visa, risking arrest, detention, ill-treatment and deportation, they added.
Stressing that the situations described by these workers may amount to human trafficking and forced labour, the experts said the reported violations align with forced labour indicators established by the International Labour Organization.
They also called on Malaysia to fulfil its international obligations by protecting the affected migrant workers from human rights abuses, warning that they face a potentially “alarming humanitarian situation” due to the risk of further exploitation and destitution.
The experts urged the government to give “urgent attention” to the issue by ensuring that all affected migrants are protected from deportation while court cases involving assessments of whether they are victims of trafficking or have been subjected to labour exploitation are ongoing.
They also said the migrants should be given basic assistance to meet their daily needs – including adequate housing, food and other basic items – during their period of unemployment.
Highlighting the names of several businesses believed to be operating as bogus employers, the letter claimed that areas such as Cheras and Chow Kit, both in Kuala Lumpur, and Pengerang, in Johor, have a notable concentration of such workers.
“We believe that the wider public should be alerted to the potential implications of the above-mentioned allegations,” they said.
“We would appreciate receiving a response within 60 days. Past this delay, this communication and any response received from (the Malaysian) government will be made public via the communications reporting website.”
The experts also said the contents of the letter would be made available in their usual report to the UN Human Rights Council.
It reminded the government that failure to provide aid and protection to duped migrant workers would violate the Asean Convention Against Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, signed in Kuala Lumpur in 2015.
The letter was co-authored by the UN’s special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, Tomoya Obokata; the UN’s special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Gehad Madi; the UN’s special rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, Siobhán Mullally; and the UN’s chair-rapporteur of the working group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, Robert McCorquodale.
Numerous unanswered questions
The letter sought information about the predicament faced by the duped migrants and assistance given by the government in terms of housing, food, health services, legal and social support.
The government was also asked to explain how private recruitment agencies are regulated, what measures are taken to address and dismantle exploitative migrant worker recruitment networks, and whether there are measures in place to stop bogus companies from issuing permits to migrant workers.
The UN experts also asked for details and results – where available – of investigations, prosecution or criminal charges against government officials, employers or other actors in relation to the allegations, including those pertaining to corruption.
The government was likewise asked about the status of cooperation between the Malaysian and Bangladeshi governments to effectively combat criminal networks and facilitate fair and ethical migrant worker recruitment.
A similar letter, sent to Bangladesh’s permanent representative to the UN, also appears to have gone unanswered.
Independent migrant worker rights specialist Andy Hall said the failure of the Malaysian and Bangladesh governments to respond to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights’ communications within the 60-day timeline points to a lack of accountability, and might be taken to suggest that they endorse human trafficking.
“Based on the many years of unsuccessfully engaging the Malaysian government on these and many other similar cases of alleged human trafficking and forced labour, I conclude that a failed migrant management and recruitment system continues to exist in the country,” he said.
FMT has contacted Wisma Putra and the office of Malaysia’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva for comment.
27th May 2024: Statement by Andy Hall, Independent Migrant Worker Rights Specialist, on today’s public release of UN OHCHR’s unanswered urgent appeal communications to the Malaysian and Bangladeshi Governments
Read this story – HERE
The United Nations (UN) Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva (OHCHR) has today published in full its unanswered urgent appeal communications sent to origin (Bangladesh) and destination (Malaysian) governments regarding exploited and duped Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia who are alleged to be victims of labour trafficking perpetrated by criminal syndicates.
This set of confidential communications had previously been sent to both Bangladeshi and Malaysian governments by a number of independent UN human rights experts on 28th March 2024.
DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile 2.pdfDownload
DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile.pdfDownload
The communications were written jointly by the Mandates of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences; the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises; the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants and human rights and the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children.
Yet today, after 60 days since these confidential communications to the Bangladeshi and Malaysian governments were sent, no response has been received by the UN OHCHR from either government, despite the worsening destitution and abusefaced by stranded Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia at this time.
The urgent issues raised by the UN experts with the Bangladeshi and Malaysian governments outlined in these communications concern an alleged criminal syndicate that has since mid 2022 trafficked hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi workers for forced labour in Malaysia, many of whom remain stranded without work until today.
These workers have been recruited on false promises of jobs and charged exorbitant fees and costs. These cases involve: violations to the physical safety and security of the workers; passport retention and ransom taking; deplorable living conditions; unpaid wages; and debt bondage resulting from extortionate recruitment related costs extracted involving cross border financial crimes, bribery and corruption.
Following submission of complaintsby myself and civil society activists, and after much media publicity, no effective action has been taken by either the Bangladeshi and Malaysian governments to: protect and assist victims; remediate their suffering; or to hold employers, recruitment intermediaries or government officials who authorised and were complicit in this alleged criminal and corrupt trafficking and forced labour syndicate accountable.
In April 2024, following twelve months of widespread reporting of this situation and the sending of the March 28th 2024 set of confidential communications, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) raised similar concerns in a public statement.
In May 2024, in an exclusive statement issued to FMT news portal, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) likewise raised similar concerns for Bangladeshi migrant workers in Malaysia and pledged support to the Government to address this crisis.
In the joint statement, IOM, ILO and UNODC highlighted Malaysia had ratified the Protocol of 2014 to the ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930, thereby renewing its commitment to fight against forced labour in all its forms, including trafficking in persons and debt bondage, and to ensure workers have access to justice and effective legal remedies.
Earlier last week, the former UN Special Rapporteur for human trafficking also reiterated that migrant workers’ vulnerability to trafficking through debt-based coercion indiscriminately raises the cost of migration exponentially.
Media reports on 10th May 2024 outline the first seemingly public reaction by Malaysia to this international condemnation. The Minister of Human Resources, Steven Sim, announced the Labour Department would set up a special unit handling migrant workers’ grievances, without specifying any details or a timeline. As with previous lack of engagement and response, this proposal, whilst welcome, is woefully inadequate.
Examples of ongoing abuses
In late 2023 and early 2024 when 171 of more than 700 Bangladeshi workers who were left stranded without jobs in Pengerang attempted to lodge complaints, they were arrested and detained. They then lodged claims before the labour department for their employer’s breach of contract to supply work and wages under conditions indicating forced labour.
Although the Malaysian Home and Human Resource Ministers both decried the practice of trading in migrant workers and agreed on new standard operating procedures (SOPs) for dealing with errant employers, systemic foot-dragging has left the workers without an effective remedy.
In what the government described as a ‘landmark case,’ the companies involved agreed to pay half of a negotiated compensation settlement by March 21st 2024 and promised to secure jobs for all the workers. Whilst some of these workers have indeed finally secured jobs, many are being poorly paid and compensation has not been forthcoming. Most of these workers remain in situations akin to acute modern slavery.
Likewise 93 Bangladeshi workers left stranded without jobs in Cheras and in destitution employed under the Ricoler Construction Company were rescued by Malaysia’s immigration and anti-trafficking agencies and granted interim protection by a magistrate. The workers were taken to the only Malaysian government shelter for victims of human trafficking in Melaka. Government ministers said in a joint press statement that the employer could face charges under for (i) failing to house workers (ii) pay them wages and additionally be probed for breaching anti-trafficking and anti-smuggling laws.
21 days later, the workers were simply released from their involuntary retention into the custody of the employer and remain in situations of deprivation and suffering. Most remain unemployed and destitute until this day.
When several workers in March 2024 recently sought to challenge their abusive situation in the Beaks case, both workers and PSM, the support organisation assisting them on the ground, became the target of alleged physical abuse and SLAPP litigation. Again, most of the victims in this case, despite the Minister’s claims to address their plight, remain destitute and unemployed.
These cases are amongst those raised in the OHCHR communications with the Bangladeshi and Malaysian Governments, none of which have been responsed to.
Questions over Government Inaction
Andy Hall, independent migrant worker rights specialist, today said in response to the release of the OHCHR communications: ‘The failure of the Bangladeshi and Malaysian governments to respond to UN OHCHR within the 60 days established timeline is purely symptomatic of the lack of rule of law, ingrained impunity and systemic corruption surrounding these migrant worker issues in both countries. Both governments simply cannot respond in any meaningful way to UN agencies, including OHCHR, ILO, IOM and UNODC, as any response at this stage is unlikely to be justifiable or to make much sense. This leaves open the inference that both governments endorse the continually unbroken link between publicly funded government ministries in both countries and transnational organised crime syndicates trafficking migrant workers for forced labour.’
Hall continued: ‘There is no defense for both governments to claim in relation to the grave human rights violations that we see 100,000s of Bangladeshi workers continuing to suffer in Malaysia. After over a decade since enacting laws to combat labour trafficking in Malaysia in particular, administrative loopholes continue to be extended to private interests with the resources to influence public agencies. The Malaysian Government’s lack of transparency as to investigations, detention and prosecutions of culpable actors and inaction leave open the inference that the government endorses the phenomenon of human trafficking. This is why I recently called for the Malaysian government to be downgraded to the lowest level, Tier 3, in the upcoming U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report 2024.’
Hall finally added: ‘Based on many years of unsuccessfully engaging the Malaysian government on these and many other similar cases of alleged human trafficking and forced labour, I conclude that a failed migrant work management and recruitment system continues to exist in the country that promotes impunity, is devoid of the rule of law and is systemically corrupt. There is little to no accountability for this dire situation, and no remediation at all of its victims.’
Simultaneously, the export overseas of Malaysian goods made using foreign workers in situations of alleged forced labour and human trafficking is negatively impacting Malaysia as trading partners reject these goods. There have been 8 recent bans between 2019 and 2024 on export of goods from Malaysia to the U.S. by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Department (CBP).
For more information on this statement contact Andy Hall on WhatsApp +9779823486634, email andy@andyjhall.org, Twitter @atomicalandy and blog www.andyjhall.org
28th May 2024: Malaysiakini – Malaysian govt yet to respond to UN’s migrant worker abuse allegations
Original Source: Malaysiakini by Ilia Aqilah – 28th May 2024
The Malaysian government has yet to respond to a letter from a team of United Nations experts with queries on alleged abuses of Bangladeshi workers in the country.
The queries were raised by Tomoya Obokata, a UN special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, Robert McCorquodale (chair-rapporteur), Gehad Madi (special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants), and Siobhán Mullally (special rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children).
The official communication, recorded in the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights database, was dated March 28 with a 60-day deadline for response, which ended today.
Communications sent to #Bangladesh & #Malaysia regarding allegations of labour exploitation among Bangladeshi migrant workers are now available from our database at https://t.co/iW7gM2qKqL
Please click on my mandate (slavery) to locate them.— UN Special Rapporteur Tomoya Obokata (@TomObokata) May 27, 2024
According to the database, the Malaysian and Bangladeshi governments have yet to respond.
“We would like to bring to the attention of your Excellency’s Government, the information we have received concerning the fraudulent recruitment of migrant workers by criminal networks operating in Malaysia and countries of origin.
“Migrant workers are deceived, recruited by fake companies and obliged to pay exorbitant recruitment fees which pushes them into debt bondage,” according to the letter.
Recommendations for government
Further, the letter stated that Bangladeshi migrants had arrived in Malaysia to find no jobs as promised and eventually faced risks of arrest, detention, ill-treatment, deportation, and further exploitation.
The Malaysian government was also recommended to state measures towards resolving the highlighted issues – access to health services, food, legal and social support, the nature of assistance provided to alleged trafficking victims, and the effectiveness of measures to prevent the trafficking of migrant workers in the country.
Following the UN’s revelation about the mismanagement of Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia on April 19, the Bangladeshi government expressed their intention to meet with the Malaysian government this month to discuss migrant worker recruitment in the country.
Malaysiakini has contacted Human Resources Minister Steven Sim and Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and is waiting for a response
Background Reading:
SCMP 3rd June 2024: ‘Nothing left for me’ as thousands of Bangladeshi workers lose everything in failed bid to work in Malaysia
Daily Star Editorial 3rd June 2024: Must our migrants pay the price every time?
Prothomalo 3rd June 2024 – Bangladesh Labour market: Hapless workers lose all vying to go to Malaysia
Daily Sun 3rd June 2024: IRREGULARITIES IN MIGRATION TO MALAYSIA: Recruiting agencies never made accountable
FMT 3rd June 2024: 17,000 Bangladeshi workers stranded, Dhaka pleads for time
Daily Star 3rd June 2024: 16,970 Bangladeshis failed to reach Malaysia for mismanagement, more destitution and modern slavery will result
See also Daily Star 2nd June 2024: Controversial recruitment system to stay 3 more years
See also Daily Star 2nd June – Jobs in Malaysia: Mismanagement left over 3k workers with no ticket to KL
Daily Star 1st June 2024: Must history repeat itself with the Malaysian labour market’s alleged criminal syndicate trafficking Bangladeshi migrant workers for forced labour
MALAYSIAKINI June 1st 2024: Controversial worker management system BESTINET gets new lease, sources say
1st June 2024 Kalerkantho: Malaysia’s dream ends in deprivation for Bangladeshi migrant workers of criminal syndicate
FMT 31st May 2024: Expect Bangladeshi workers to be stranded and at high risk of modern slavery following Malaysian migration management deadline rush, warns activist
SCMP 31st May 2024: Malaysians shocked by thousands of Bangladeshis crowding at airport to beat deadline for legal work, as UN and activists warn of increased modern slavery risks
CNA 31st May 2024: Over 30,000 workers set to miss deadline to enter Malaysia even as officials clear backlog at KL airport
Prothomalo 31 May 2024 – Bangladesh – Malaysia’s labour market: Repeated syndicates, repeated closure
Prothomalo 31st May 2024: Bangladesh – Thousands of people crowded Dhaka airport without flight tickets to go to Malaysia
31st May 2024: Govt reaffirms commitment to protect migrant workers’ rights to UN
31st May 2024: The closure of the labor market in Malaysia has shattered the dreams of 31,000 workers
Daily Star 31 May 2024 – Recruitment in Malaysia: Syndicate siphons over $1b out of Bangladesh
Daily Sun 31st May 2024: Biman sends 2,000 migrant workers to Malaysia
Business Standard 31st May 2024: Malaysia-bound workers scammed, stranded at Dhaka airport as deadline set to expire today
Daily Star 30th May 2024: Manpower syndicates beyond Dhaka-KL control
CNA 30th May 2024: ‘Congestion’ at KL airport as employers scramble to bring in thousands of migrant workers before deadline
MALAYSIAKINI 30th May 2023: ‘Migrants influx at KLIA due to employers chasing deadline’
30th May 2024 Benar News: Malaysia’s labor market closed – Migrant workers flock to airports in all countries
29th May Daily Star: Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia – Hiring begins with bribery (UN independent experts say Bangladeshi workers pay up to 8 times for migration alone due to corruption of Malaysia ministries, Bangladesh mission and syndicates)
29th May Daily Star: Airfare to Malaysia surges fivefold
FMT 28th May 2024: Malaysia yet to respond to UN concerns on alleged criminal syndicate trafficking Bangladeshi migrant victims for forced labour in the country(with my full statement included)
30th May Star: Cyclone smashes Bangladeshi workers’ hopes, extension requested
Channel News Asia 25th May 2024: Malaysia’s bid to revamp hiring of foreign workers through controversial BESTINET process faces pushback; activists say country’s reputation at stake
20th May 2024 FMT: Duped Bangladeshi workers won’t impact Malaysia’s US Human trafficking report ranking, says HR Minister Sim
Malay Mail 17th May 2024: Pengerang employer to face Labour Court in Malaysia after failing for months to pay Bangladeshi workers’ wages over RM1m (government statements and my comments included – months on, court agreed mediation settlement unforced, workers allegedly remain in situation akin to acute modern slavery)
16th May 2024: Firm that left over 700 Bangladeshi workers to dry in Pengerang facing possible prosecution (months on, court agreed mediation settlement unforced, workers allegedly remain in situation akin to acute modern slavery)
14th May 2024: FMT – Activists warn of US trafficking report downgrade for Malaysia amid UN criticism
9th May 2024: Study: 96% of Bangladeshi workers going to Malaysia fall into recruitment debt– The study also said that 82% had two or more loans and 73% of workers spent at least 50% to 100% of their monthly salary to repay recruitment debts
4th May 2024: UN agencies concerned over Bangladeshi workers stranded in Malaysia – Joint Statement of ILO, IOM and UNODC on Alleged Criminal Syndicate Trafficking Bangladeshi Workers for Forced Labour in Malaysia
24th April 2024: Address plight of duped Bangladeshi migrant workers in Malaysia in response to UN warning, govt told (more on the ongoing saga of an alleged criminal syndicate trafficking Bangladeshi migrant workers for forced labour in Malaysia)
FMT 19th April 2024: UN experts sound alarm over plight of duped Bangladeshi migrants in Malaysia
For more on Andy Hall’s complaint to the OHCHR see 30th Oct 2023: FMT: Andy Hall refers stranded Bangladeshi workers’ plight in Malaysia to UN Human Rights Council
See Daily Star 23rd Apr 2024: Bangladesh Plight of Migrant Workers – Bangladesh, Malaysia working group meeting likely in May
See Daily Star Editorial 23rd Apr 2024: When even legal migrants suffer – Workers migrating to Malaysia legally deserve better protection
Business Standard 23rd April 2024: Expat Ministry reviews UN complaints on Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia
Prothomalo 23rd April 2024: Bangladesh – Ministry reviewing allegations over Malaysia labour market
BenarNews Malay Language: Pakar PBB gesa Malaysia tangani layanan buruk diterima pekerja Bangladesh (UN expert urges Malaysia to handle bad treatment received by Bangladeshi workers)
Daily Star 19th Apr 2024: UN experts express dismay over situation of Bangladeshi migrants in Malaysia
FMT 19th Apr 2024: PSM, news portal set aside order to stop debate on migrant workers’ plight
Daily Star Editorial 17th April 2024: Save our migrants in Malaysia (more on the crisis caused by an alleged criminal syndicate trafficking Bangladeshi workers for forced labour in Malaysia)
9th April 2024 The Star – Bangladeshi victims of criminal syndicate trafficking worked for forced labour in Malaysia: ‘Cops after workers, not rogue employers’
7th April 2024: SCMP – As Malaysia’s door closes on low-paid migrant workers, companies scramble for staff (and a systemically corrupt migration management and recruitment policy, devoid of the rule of law and leading to impunity and gross exploitation, is revealed)
6th April 2024 Daily Star: A hostel of nightmares for Bangladeshi migrants allegedly trafficked by criminal syndicate for forced labour in Malaysia (and Daily Star Op Ed)
Daily Star Editorial 6th Apr 2024: What will happen to migrants abandoned in Malaysia?
26th March 2024: The Star – Freeze on foreign workers hiring quota in Malaysia stays for now, says HR Minister (with estimated 200,000+ surplus foreign workforce victims facing destitution and abuse)
Daily Star 25th Mar: Malaysia employer framed Bangladeshi workers
Daily Star 24th Mar 2024: Jailed in Malaysia – 3 Bangladesh workers released
Editorial Prothomalo 24th Mar 2024: Malaysian labour market – Take action against the fraud syndicate
FMT 23rd March 2024: PSM calls on Sim to look into arrest of Bangladeshi workers
MALAYSIAKINI 23 Mar 2024: Stranded foreign workers (alleged victims of criminal syndicate trafficking Bangladeshi workers for forced labour in Malaysia) nabbed after labour complaints against employer
23rd March 2024 The Star: Half a million vulnerable and irregular foreign workers disappear from Malaysia’s migrant worker regularization programme as deadline looms in one week
23 Mar 2024 The Star: Verification rate lags as RTK 2.0 deadline approaches
22nd March 2024 Malay Mail: Home minister – Over RM9m in fines collected so far through migrant repatriation programme
22nd March 2024 Protomalo: Malaysian labour market set to be closed again due to syndication
20th March 2024: 93 duped/detained Bangladeshi migrant workers in Malaysia have jobs now, says immigration DG
20th Mar 2024 Business Standard: Bangladeshi workers’ plight in Malaysia: Coalition of migration orgs demand action against recruiting agency syndicate
19th March 2024: FMT – Plantation firms wary of ‘forced labour’ concerns in hiring 200,000 surplus foreign workers/criminal syndicate victims in Malaysia, says minister – indeed he’s right, who wants to take on destitute foreign workers often with US$4-7000 in debt?
17th March 2024: FMT – Malaysia’s treatment of migrant workers utterly shameful
New Age 16th Mar 2024: Bangladeshi government must mend issues to keep Malaysia job market open
15th March 2024 SCMP: Malaysians deride minister’s idea to rebrand palm oil workers as ‘specialised harvesters’
14th March 2024: The Star – Opinion: When work in Malaysia is a con – the criminal syndicate trafficking Bangladeshis for forced labour in Malaysia
FMT 13th March 2024: Bangladeshi migrants file police reports after falling victim to job scam/criminal syndicate trafficking workers from Bangladesh for forced labour in Malaysia
12th March 2024: SCMP – Malaysia to slash migrant workforce amid intolerance, job scam crisis involving Bangladeshi labourers
Daily Star Editorial 10th March 2024: Migrating to a life of unemployment
Daily Star 10th Mar 2024: Distressed in Malaysia – Thousands of Bangladeshi migrants jobless, unpaid or underpaid
9th March 2024: Malay Mail – Activists warn rushed 31st March visa deadline in Malaysia could force firms to source foreign workers unethically (includes my commentary on the abrupt policy change)
9th Mar 2024 The Star: No extension of May 31 foreign worker deadline
NST 9th Mar 2024: Keep recruitment agencies in a list rather than shutting them down, govt told
See also NST 9th Mar 2024: Sourcing migrant workers takes time, ‘not like buying cattle’, employer groups tell govt
NST 8th Mar 2024: Eliminate middlemen from migrant worker recruitment process, govt told
Star 8th Mar 2024: May 31 deadline for foreign workers recruitment under recalibration programme remains, says Saifuddin
Malay Mail 8th Mar 2024: Saifuddin Nasution: No more agents for Bangladeshi worker recruitment
6th Mar 2024: Malaysian government halts foreign worker entry into the country from 31st May 2024 (final calling visa/VDN approval issuance deadline 31st March 2024) as migrant worker management crisis worsens and victims of gross exploitation, unemployment and destitution rise significantly
6th March 2024: Business Times –Sudden change in foreign worker policy by Malaysian government leaves industry in limbo
6th Mar 2024 Edge: Foreign worker intake deadline changes will leave manufacturers in the lurch, says FMM
6th Mar 2024 FMT: Industry players shocked by foreign worker policy change, says FMM
Mar 5 2024: NCCIM urges govt to review unused foreign worker quota deadline
FMT 3rd Mar 2024: Ensure ‘crooks’ do not gain from repatriation programme, says activist
Mar 2nd 2024 The Star: A chance for illegals to go home
Mar 2nd 2024 The Star: Sarawak immigration extends RTK2.0 until June
Mar 1st 2024 FMT: 600,000 foreign workers urged to take easy exit home
Mar 1st 2024 The Star: Use repatriation programme to return home, 600,000 illegals told
Feb 28th 2024 The Star: New programme lets migrants off the hook without being prosecuted
Feb 25th 2024 The Star: Businesses want foreign worker hiring freeze lifted
Jan 31st 2024 NST: Govt to implement Migrant Repatriation Programme starting March
Jan 31st 2024 The Edge: Cabinet agrees to extend freeze on hiring of foreign workers, says home minister
31st Jan 2024 FMT: Migrant repatriation programme set for March 1
31st Jan 2024 The Star: Migration Repatriation Programme to commence on March 1, says Home Ministry
FMT 6th Jan 2024: 171 duped migrant workers deserve compensation, govt told (includes my full statement)
5th Jan 2024: New Strait Times – MCA: Don’t just fine employers, hold ministry accountable as well for unemployed foreign workers
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
30th Dec 2023: New Strait Times – Recruitment agencies accused of deception as Bangladeshi victims speak out on exploitation and fear
29th Dec 2023: Malay Mail – Set up probe on exploitation of migrant workers and new ministry to manage their affairs, Suhakam tells Putrajaya
28th Dec 2023: FMT – Malaysia has entered ‘slave labour’ territory, says ex-MP – Charles Santiago calls for specific set-ups to manage migrant workers
27th Dec 2023: New Strait Times – MTUC demand govt, MACC probe into corrupt recruitment practices of foreign workers
26th Dec 2023: FMT – High recruitment fees make greedy agents bring in workers, says group
25th Dec 2023: FMT – Probe recruitment agents, MACC told after arrest of Bangladeshis
22nd Nov 2023: MALAYSIAKINI – Full probe of migrant worker syndicate, Malaysian HR Minister Sivakumar says
9th Nov 2023: Malaysia – The State of the Nation: Flaws of foreign worker system laid bare in declassified report
30th Oct 2023: FMT: Andy Hall refers stranded Bangladeshi workers’ plight in Malaysia to UN Human Rights Council
20th Oct 2023 Malaysiakini: Long-awaited foreign worker management report declassified in Malaysia (my comments added)
19th Oct 2023: Malaysia facing huge excess of 1/4 million migrant laborers
21st Sep 2023: Malaysian government has 15 source countries for foreign workers – Comments by Andy Hall
20th Sep 2023: Rate of abused Bangladeshi workers’ entry into Malaysia worrying, says migrant rights activist Andy Hall
Aljazeera News TV 10th July 2023 – Migrants in Malaysia: Hundreds left stranded in recruitment scam
Reuters 11th Apr 2023: In Malaysia, migrants say they are in limbo after promised jobs fall through
25th April 2023 Sarawak Post: Malaysia And Modern Slavery – ‘PM Must Take Control’
23rd April 2023: REUTERS: Malaysia probes cases of migrant workers left jobless, without passports (with background summary and articles included in my blog post)
17th April 2023 Daily Star: Approval For Labour Recruitment – Malaysia’s transparency questioned by Bangladesh
FMT 13th April 2023: Stranded Bangladeshis endure ‘hell’ in Malaysia – The group of 35 now wants to go home after being left without jobs for months
11th Mar 2023 MALAYSIAKINI: Malaysian HR Minister Sivakumar – Zero checks for migrant quota approvals only until March 2023
13th Feb 2023: My Perspective published by FMT – ‘Time to address corruption in Malaysia’s migrant worker management’
10th Jan 2023: ‘Bangladeshi recruitment cartels’ grip must end’ – Govt now acting on billion-ringgit ‘human trafficking syndicates’
1st Oct 2022 Malay Mail: PM Anwar says Putrajaya to Ease Rules on Hiring Migrant Workers
7th July 2022 The Vibes: How Bestinet courted controversy over migrant worker recruitment – MACC’s raid on IT company once again casts spotlight on alleged hiring monopoly
June 2022 The Star: Human Traffickers made RM2 billion through syndicate smuggling in over 100,000 workers from Bangladesh
