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?
Three out of four employers interviewed said it would be unfair to them as only the workers themselves can be held accountable for their actions.
<P>The move comes in the wake of calls for better monitoring
of foreign workers in the belief they are responsible for the rising crime in
the country.</P><P>Taking the thumbprints of the employers to make them accountable
for the conduct of their workers is one of the clauses in the new Foreign Workers
Bill to be tabled in Parliament soon.</P><P>Mohamad Rafiq, 44, branch manager
of Haniffa Textiles in Masjid India said: "Employers should not be held responsible
for their workers’ actions. If the problem is locating the workers if they
commit a crime, then taking the thumbprint of the workers upon entry to the country
will be a better idea. The thumbprint should be recorded on the immigration card,
together with their place of employment.</P><P>"This way, it will be easier
to trace them."</P><P>Chandran Kannaya, 60, manager of Ramzan restaurant
near Central Market, said that both thumbprinting employers and confining foreign
workers to their workplace would be unfair.</P><P>"It is not easy for employers
to watch their workers’ movements round the clock. And what happens to their
freedom?"</P><P>Nepalese Hakim Shrestha, 41, said workers should be held
responsible for their own actions.</P><P>He has been running Fish Tails Sdn Bhd,
a shop in Jalan Silang selling items to Nepalese customers, for the past seven
years.</P><P>Only 37-year-old Salim Sayid, manager of Eaindra Minimart, a general
trading shop which caters to Myanmar, Bangladeshi and Nepalese customers, agreed
that employers should be held responsible for what their workers did.</P><P>"They
took the workers in. So who else is responsible if something goes wrong, if not
the employers?" he said.</P><P>The Malaysian Trades Union Congress says monitoring
the movements of workers after working hours goes too far.</P><P>MTUC president
Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud said unless it can be statistically proven that crimes
in the country are mainly committed by non-citizens, foreign workers must receive
the same treatment as locals.</P><P><I>Source: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Wednesday/National/20070221082234/Article/local1_html</I>
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