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?
Dr. Junaidy Abdul Wahad (BN-Batu Pahat) said currently only expatriate in the
professional category enjoy the benefit of both funds and it should be extended
to all foreigners working in the plantation, manufacturing, services and construction
sectors.
<p>The laws that forbid foreign workers from other fields from contributing to
EPF and Socso are not beneficial for the country and would not help in adding
value to the nation’s economy, he said when debating on the Ninth Malaysia Plan
(9MP) in Dewan Rakyat, here.</p>
<p>He said based on the extrapolation by the Human Resources Ministry the number
of foreign workers in Malaysia would reach 5 million by 2010.</p>
<p>"In fact based on the 2004 statistics, the Malaysian economy was beefed
up by at least 2.7 million workers with and average income of RM700 monthly,
including the domestic maid industry that represents RM3.7 billion annually,"
he said.</p>
<p>The Dewan Rakyat sitting will resume on Wednesday.– BERNAMA
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