Stop outsourcing govt functions, says MP over new migrant workers hiring system

 

A PKR lawmaker has urged Putrajaya to stop outsourcing its functions to private companies, citing national security and sovereignty concerns.

This followed news of the government’s alleged plan to adopt a new migrant worker management system called the Universal Recruitment Advanced Platform (Turap), which is being developed by Bestinet Sdn Bhd.

In a statement, Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung said the practice of outsourcing migrant workers registration to a third party should not have happened in the first place, given the highly sensitive nature of the data involved and its implications for national security and sovereignty.

“There must be clear boundaries when it comes to outsourcing government functions. The management of migrant worker data sits firmly on the wrong side of that line.

“It is not merely an administrative system. It is a strategic national infrastructure involving identity, movement, employment, and security,” he said.

Lee also questioned Putrajaya’s continuous engagement with Bestinet and highlighted issues with its role in the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System, the system currently used by the government.

The PKR central leadership council member added that he has consistently questioned Bestinet’s role and serious governance issues involving the company, including its failure to submit annual returns since 2010.

“This raises a simple but critical question: what is so uniquely indispensable about a private vendor that the government has no viable alternative?

“If the proposed system is indeed as capable as claimed, and not dependent on proprietary technology, then there is no reason it cannot be developed, owned, and operated in-house.

“This is especially pertinent at a time when the government is actively investing in its own GovTech capabilities.

“More importantly, we must ask whether continued outsourcing of such data-sensitive systems increases exposure to risks, not only in terms of data privacy breaches, but also in the erosion of national sovereignty over critical infrastructure,” Lee said.

Good changes or just another layer?

On March 27, Malaysiakini reported that the government is considering a new digital system to manage migrant workers, which industry sources claim will be called Turap.

Sources said the proposal is to improve the recruitment ecosystem, which is mired by high costs and poor worker welfare.

However, industry players have expressed their scepticism about whether the new system will bring genuine changes or merely add another layer to the existing systems.

Following the report, police launched an investigation into Malaysiakini, with one of its journalists called in to give a statement.

A coalition representing private employment agencies had also expressed strong objection against Turap, which they claimed would create a monopoly in the migrant worker recruitment sector.

Human Resources Minister R Ramanan on Thursday said he saw no issues with adopting Bestinet as the system developer, but indicated it has yet to receive government approval. -- Mkini