State rep claims not a single foreign worker in constituency tested for Covid-19

CORONAVIRUS | As his constituency in mainland Penang has many foreign workers, a PKR assemblyperson has lamented the poor enforcement of International Trade and Industry Ministry’s (Miti) rules concerning the community.

Bukit Tengah elected representative Gooi Hsiao Leung said the federal government must explain the announcement it made about workers having to undergo testing for Covid-19 before being allowed to work.

"How many have since been tested, how many will be tested and what were the results of the mass testing?" asked Gooi, in a comment to Malaysiakini's follow-up on the foreign worker situation under his watch.

"Although it is clearly stated in Miti’s standard operating procedures and guidelines for companies wishing to operate in the third phase of the MCO, that any foreign worker not allowed to work but seeking an exemption to do so, must undergo testing for Covid-19; how many companies have so far complied with this requirement to test their workers?" he further asked.

Gooi was referring to a remark on April 18 by Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah that the government would embark on a large-scale mass testing of foreign workers.

At the time, it was reported that over 600 foreigners from Indonesia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan had been infected in Malaysia.

Gooi said so far, none of the foreign workers he had spoken to during his recent visits to their hostels, have undergone any testing for Covid-19.

"As it is, there are already factories resuming operations in Penang.

"Yesterday, in my visit to a foreign workers’ hostel in Taman Perwira, I personally witnessed at least seven buses picking up their workers for work, and there was clearly no signs of physical distancing being practiced when queuing up for their buses," Gooi said.

"These buses were packed with workers sitting in very close proximity, side by side to one another," he added.

Gooi said it was clear that Miti guidelines requiring strict compliance of physical distancing of workers being shuttled to work had not been complied with.

This also applies to the time when they return back from work, he added.

"They would freely mingle with other workers staying in other overcrowded units across one another in their hostels.

"One of the hostels I visited had 80 workers sharing only one common kitchen to cook their meals, whereas in Singapore this practice has since been disallowed following the serious outbreak of infections among foreign workers," Gooi said.

Gooi reiterated his call for greater monitoring of foreign workers working in the country to protect them and the general public.

He added that the various government agencies which have been tasked with the job of enforcing the guidelines must step up their game in monitoring companies allowed to operate with foreign workers.

The government, he stressed, must not let its guard down although there is lesser local infections.

"We all want our lives to resume to some normality by avoiding longer periods of MCO extensions should there be a serious outbreak of infections among foreign workers like in Singapore where they have over 8,000 cases of foreign worker infections today," Gooi warned.

"Official records show there are over 150,000 registered foreign workers in Penang and roughly 10,000 of them, the size of half the total number of voters in my constituency, are based in Bukit Tengah,” he added. - Mkini