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?
Datuk Dr Fong Chan Onn said he issued this directive to the Social Security
Organisation (Socso) yesterday.
<p>"I want to be kept informed of any prolonged cases. I want the cases to
be addressed soonest possible," he said after presenting compensation of
more than RM384,000 to 40 Socso benefit recipients yesterday. </p>
<p>"I want Socso to make sure that there are no backlog cases," he added.
</p>
<p>SHOW OF CONCERN: Dr Fong looking at M. Karupayah’s leg after presenting him
with a Socso cheque in Penang.<br>
Dr Fong said RM830mil was paid to 255,000 Socso members last year. </p>
<p>Between January and July this year, RM596mil was paid to 260,000 recipients.
</p>
<p>In Penang, Socso paid RM11.1mil last year compared to RM10mil the previous
year, he said, adding that RM6mil was paid during the first half of this year.
</p>
<p>Of the 554,100 companies registered with Socso, only 335,000 were active, he
said, adding that five million workers nationwide were Socso members. </p>
<p>Dr Fong advised Socso to adopt a humanitarian approach when assessing cases.
</p>
<p>" Socso must not be rigid when making decisions and it should not be looking
solely at the legal aspects when assessing cases," he said. </p>
<p>Among the 40 recipients yesterday, 21 received permanent disability compensation
totalling more than RM310,000 and 13 others received temporary disability compensation
amounting to over RM42,000. </p>
<p>Four people received funeral benefits totalling RM6,000 and two received funds
from the invalidity pension scheme worth more than RM25,500.
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