Source: Troubled foreign worker recruiting system to be replaced

 

The services provided by Bestinet Sdn Bhd, which manages Malaysia’s Foreign Worker Centralised Management System (FWCMS) may now be provided by a new company – 3S Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

The new company, set up in June 2021, has a website – 3sMalaysia.com - which features the Human Resources Ministry emblem on the top of every page.

An industry source revealed to Malaysiakini that the FWCMS was no longer favoured as the sole digital platform to be used in Malaysia’s link-up with Indonesia through the One Channel System (OCS) in recruiting and placing domestic workers.

Seemingly confirming this, is the logo of the Indonesian Labour Ministry sitting beneath the bold words “our partners” at the bottom of the landing page.

The OCS was introduced as a mandatory clause in the memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the employment and protection of domestic workers which is being negotiated between Malaysia and Indonesia.

In July 2018, Bestinet was embroiled in a Nepalese workers recruitment scandal and denied allegations it was involved in money laundering activities or profiting from the processing of immigration documents for foreign workers.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi also denied any link to the information technology company. The company was said to have been set up by his brother-in-law.

Portal to recruit foreign workers

From a statement on the 3S Malaysia website, it is learned that the company promises to be a “portal that provides end-to-end services from recruitment to replacement and repatriation in the OCS”.

3S Malaysia also impresses with another statement declaring the portal was transforming the hiring process with a platform that “puts you in control of the costs you pay and the quality of the hire” while promising to ensure the welfare of foreign workers.

Referring to the OCS, the portal described it as “a product by the Human Resources Department acting as a portal to recruit foreign workers”.

The industry source also pointed out that all payments in the processing would be made through the 3S Malaysia portal and they would also provide training for workers, including training of domestic workers through programmes offered by the Human Resource Development Corporation.

This was supported by information on the website that declared 3S Malaysia’s three additional services: to provide workers with knowledge on health and safety, high-quality certifiable skills training, and basic legal knowledge.

Another explanation on the website described how documents such as identity cards and passports would be uploaded to a mobile app.

This was said to ensure the legitimacy of individuals involved because employers and workers may retrieve information about each other.

Accessibility to the rest of the website was only offered to those who registered as agents or vendors - the latter alluded to the possibility that services provided by 3S Malaysia would be outsourced to trainers.

3S Malaysia ownership

A quick company check with the Companies Commission (CCM) revealed that 3S Malaysia was owned by 3S Asia Sdn Bhd and all six shareholders were foreign nationals. The two with the highest number of shares were also its directors.

The source revealed that 3S Asia was wholly owned by Indonesians with a business address in Jalan Sri Hartamas 1, Taman Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur.

Shedding light on 3S Asia’s relationship with the Human Resources Ministry, the source divulged that the ministry may not have paid for the services provided by the company as 3S Malaysia may have been endowed to the ministry.

Malaysiakini reached out to the management of 3S Malaysia via the email address listed on the website for confirmation on its new role in migrant management in Malaysia.

There was no response at press time. - Mkini