Kula to Home Ministry: Hand over foreign worker management to HR Ministry

 

Former human resources minister M Kulasegaran is urging the Home Ministry to hand over the management of foreign workers to the Human Resources Ministry for better enforcement.

He said a special independent committee on foreign worker management had previously suggested this.

“Among the suggestions was to establish the Ministry of Human Resources as the single authority for foreign worker management and the development of an end-to-end, single online system for the recruitment of foreign labour.

“I propose that the Home Ministry immediately hand over the management of foreign workers to the Human Resources Ministry, so that it can be better managed. Enforcement must be enhanced,” he said.

In a statement today, the Ipoh Barat MP said the committee, led by former Court of Appeal judge Hishammudin Yunus had produced a report comprising 40 recommendations.

The report was due to be made publicly available during the Pakatan Harapan federal administration.

“After presenting it (the report) to the cabinet, a committee was set up and headed by the chief secretary to the government to suggest how the recommendations and proposals should be implemented,” he said.

He added that one of the most significant proposals in the report was to abolish outsourcing licences for labour supply - which would have brought an end to third-party service providers or agents.

Kulasegaran’s statement follows the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP)'s decision to issue a ‘Withhold Release Order’ - which would bar imports from Malaysian glove manufacturer Supermax Corp over indications of forced labour practices.

Supermax Corp is the fourth Malaysian firm to face such a ban in the past 15 months.

However, Kulasegaran claims that all is not lost.

“The Home Ministry can make immediate changes in order to eradicate forced labour. This is important because it involves some of our biggest companies that provide thousands of jobs.

“I propose that the independent committee's report be revisited and its recommendations implemented immediately. Make the report public.

“The government must finally acknowledge that this is a very serious matter that demands attention,” he added.

Kula noted in his statement that the local rubber glove industry supplies 65 percent of the world's rubber gloves and recorded exports worth RM52.7 billion last year.

“This production is very important to meet the growing global demand. Why are we jeopardising the role we play?” he said. - Mkini