Malaysia is one of Asia's biggest employers of foreign labour. But recently, cases of deaths, abuse and forced labour have come to light. What is going on? Who is protecting these migrant workers?
Accompanied by six Immigration officials, their mission was to capture between
800 and 1,000 illegals who had set up camp in the plantation for the past three
years.
<p>The raid followed complaints from villagers and Felda settlers of the illegals’
presence in the area. Despite a 10-hour search of the camp, which started on
Saturday night, the authorities came out empty-handed.</p>
<p>State Rela director Kol Mohd Hariri Abu Hassan believed the illegals was informed
about the raid and quickly made their getaway.</p>
<p>There were signs that they had left in a hurry because there was still some
cooked food left on a makeshift table near the settlements.</p>
<p>"Word of the operation must have leaked to them. We believe this could
be an inside job," he told the New Straits Times yesterday.</p>
<p>Hariri said it was believed that the illegal settlement had been in existence
for more than three years, but authorities only learnt of it about two months
ago.</p>
<p>"The villagers and Felda settlers have complained to the Immigration that
the illegals have been there for quite sometime.</p>
<p>"They said they were afraid because the illegals have picked quarrels
with them and even threatened to damage their property if they (the illegals)
were disturbed," he said.</p>
<p>"This operation was carried out after careful planning and was confidential.
That is why we believe that the leak could be from the inside," he said.</p>
<p>A Felda settler, who did not want to be identified, described the group of
illegals as canggih (sophisticated) because they had walkie-talkies and were
cunning.</p>
<p>At their camp in the rubber estate, the illegals had set up several observation
towers and sentry posts to check on "members" coming and going.</p>
<p>There would be at least two people on shifts at the towers and another two
at the sentry post.</p>
<p>The camp, which is well equipped with electricity from a generator and water,
is situated in a very dense path of the rubber estate where access is almost
impossible.</p>
<p>There is only a narrow trek which is well hidden. It takes about four hours
on foot to get to the camp and two hours by four-wheel-drive.</p>
<p>The settler said the illegals earned their living by tapping the rubber trees.</p>
<p>It was disclosed that the illegals had been hired by an agent, who had leased
several hectares of the land from the Felda settlers.</p>
<p>Felda Sungai Behrang has some 500 settlers, covering an area of about 5,000ha.
Each settler is allotted between four and six hectares of land for their rubber
trees.</p>
<p>It is learnt that a settler would lease his land to the agent for between RM1,200
and RM1,600 a month.</p>
<p>The Felda settler said that of late, the agents had started hiring legal foreign
workers to tap the rubber trees and had laid off some of the illegals.</p>
<p>This had angered the illegals and they had threatened the legal foreign workers
not to disturb their turf or face the consequences.</p>
<p>Hariri said Rela and Immigration would continue pursuing the illegals until
they were all caught, urging cooperation from villagers to inform the authorities
of their whereabouts.
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