PETALING JAYA: Two migrant rights activists have warned against segregating migrant workers over Covid-19 fears, saying it could lead to even more discrimination against the already marginalised community.
Commenting on a Melaka government directive to move migrant workers out of housing areas, North-South Initiative director Adrian Pereira said they were not “objects to be shifted like cattle” and British activist Andy Hall said it was hasty to accuse them of spreading Covid-19.
The Melaka government recently ordered all industrial sector employers to move migrant workers living in housing areas to designated hostels.
This came after local communities aired fears that the increase in Covid-19 cases among the migrants would lead to outbreaks in residential areas.
Melaka chief minister Sulaiman Md Ali said the order was seen as “the best approach to separate migrant workers from the local community”.
Speaking to FMT, Pereira said a failure to address the issue with sensitivity would add to the already well-documented stigmatisation and racism against migrant workers.
“This could be the start of a very dangerous trend,” he said. “The foreign workers are already not using the same transport as others. Tomorrow, the authorities will say they can’t eat or shop in the same places.
“I can understand why local residents are worried, but that should not translate into xenophobia and racism.”
He said it was important to look into the root cause of clusters involving migrant workers such as factories’ adherence to Covid-19 SOPs.
An International Labour Organisation (ILO) report published last December highlighted Malaysians’ poor attitude towards migrant workers, with nearly half of the 1,009 respondents in Malaysia saying they believed the foreigners were a drain on the national economy. Eighty-two percent associated them with high crime rates and 68% said the influx of migrant workers threatened Malaysia’s culture and heritage.
Pereira warned that any move to segregate migrant workers had the potential of backfiring on the economy since international investors are now looking closer than ever at the way the country manages its migrant labour.
He said the foreigners should not be subject to “discriminatory laws or regulations” which would prevent them from living in the same housing areas as locals.
Hall told FMT migrant workers had informed him that they contracted Covid-19 after coming into contact with infected Malaysian co-workers.
He said cases would then spread quickly among the foreigners because of their cramped living conditions.
“Any attempt to blame them for spreading Covid-19 must first address the root cause,” he said. “Especially in times of lockdown, many migrant workers are only allowed to be in their workplaces and hostels.
“You have to look at how the virus got into the community before it spread rapidly. Any attempt to demonise migrant workers is simply counter-productive.” - FMT
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