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 Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) commissioner Datuk N. Siva Subramaniam said Rela volunteers must at least have a basic grasp of the laws they were enforcing and acted within them.
<P>He
said a recent raid in Jenjarom, Kuala Langat, in which eight Rela volunteers were
said to have assaulted two Nepalese workers before arresting them, seemed to indicate
they acted above the law.</P><P>"Suhakam has received many such complaints
against Rela. And if left unchecked, they will tarnish the image of the country,"
he said, adding that Suhakam had also received complaints of theft involving Rela
volunteers.</P><P>He said the allegations were difficult to substantiate, but
the complaints were disturbing. It was unfair to malign all Rela volunteers and
the underlying issue could be the quality of the volunteers in the organisation,
he added.</P><P>"Rela recruits come from all walks of life, including the
unemployed, traders and farmers. The bar must be raised to ensure volunteers are
capable of upholding the law while trying to enforce it."</P><P>Siva said
Rela must understand that migrant workers were entitled to humane treatment even
if they were arrested.</P><P>He said Suhakam had received a copy of the police
report lodged against the Rela members involved in the Jenjarom raid on March
2.</P><P>The report lodged by the Malaysian Crime Prevention Association said
the Rela volunteers acted with excessive force, and the raid was carried out without
the presence of district or state Rela officers as required under the law.</P><P>Association
legal adviser N.Pathmanabhan claimed the Rela volunteers hit the Nepalese workers
with rotans.</P><P><I>Source: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Tuesday/National/20070313092151/Article/index_html</I>
Address: Wisma MTUC,10-5, Jalan USJ 9/5T, 47620 Subang Jaya,Selangor | Tel: 03-80242953 | Fax: 03-80243225 | Email: sgmtuc@gmail.com.com