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?
The Pakistanis will be exempt from taking the induction courses which are compulsory
for other foreign workers, Home Affairs Minister Azmi Khalid was quoted as saying
by the Star newspaper.
<p>"We need the workers urgently. So to speed up the process we will exempt
them from taking the course," he said.</p>
<p>When asked how urgently the workers were required, Azmi said: "We want
them to come as soon as yesterday."</p>
<p><b>Screening mechanism</b></p>
<p>The government has the mechanism to screen the workers from Pakistan to ensure
that none will pose any threat to the country’s security, Deputy Prime Minister
Najib Razak was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.</p>
<p>He did not elaborate.</p>
<p>The labour shortage follows an exodus during a three-month amnesty which ended
on March 1 of nearly 400,000 illegal immigrants, mostly from Indonesia but also
from the Philippines, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.</p>
<p>The government’s decision to hire workers from Pakistan came amid fears that
the labour shortage could further aggravate a slowdown in economic growth this
year. – AFP
Address: Wisma MTUC,10-5, Jalan USJ 9/5T, 47620 Subang Jaya,Selangor | Tel: 03-80242953 | Fax: 03-80243225 | Email: sgmtuc@gmail.com.com