KUALA LUMPUR – A five-year ban on business involvement should be imposed on individuals heading companies who bring in migrant workers but do not provide them jobs, former Klang MP Charles Santiago has suggested.
He welcomed the tough action announced by the home and human resources ministers recently that employers who deceive migrant workers into non-existent jobs would be blacklisted from applying for migrant workers.
“It’s a good start that the Human Resources Ministry and the Home Ministry are taking actions against individual directors and managers.
“It’s also crucial to restrict their involvement in business for at least five years to send a clear message against impunity. Accountability must extend beyond penalties,” Santiago said in a statement.
On January 6, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Human Resources Minister Steven Sim, in a joint press conference, said errant companies would also not be able to renew temporary employment visit passes for their migrant workers with the Immigration Department.
They also announced these punitive measures had been imposed on the company in Pengerang, Johor which brought in 171 Bangladeshi workers but did not find them employment.
The workers were captured on video walking along the road to a police station to lodge a report against the company.
The company also had its remaining quota of migrant workers cancelled and will not receive refunds on levies paid.
Santiago, who is National Water Services Commission chairman, lauded the ministries for acting swiftly on the Pengerang case.
Urging the government to extend the same support to other displaced migrant workers, he suggested a 24-hour hotline for distressed workers to call and report grievances.
He repeated calls for a revamp of migrant worker recruitment to Malaysia, especially on the entry process and the role of labour agents.
“A thorough rethinking of the migration process is essential to address the root causes of labour trafficking.” – January 17, 2024