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 factories in Selangor failed to obtain licenses for reasons including pollution standards, but they provided 150,000 jobs and contributed RM2 billion to the state’s economy yearly, an official was quoted as saying in the New Straits Times newspaper.
<P>Many had also attracted
foreign investment and were involved in hi-tech manufacturing, it said.</P><P>"To
shut them down would cause hardship to workers and lead to a host of other social
problems," Mohamad Mokhtar Ahmad Dahlan, chair of Selangor’s housing committee,
was quoted as saying.</P><P>Mokhtar said the state government decided to give
the factories until the end of the year to legitimise their operations after considering
their contributions to the economy.</P><P>Government agencies, including the environment
department, would help the factories to revamp their operations.</P><P>"If
their operations do not pose any danger to the environment, there should be no
reason for permits to be withheld," he said, warning they would be shut down
if they continued to flout the law.</P><P>Selangor is a key state for manufacturing
in Malaysia and houses a number of industrial estates. – AFP</P>
<P><I>Source:
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/63970</I>
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