Penang Deputy Chief Minister P Ramasamy has claimed that cabinet ministers M Saravanan and Zuraida Kamaruddin are in denial over the presence of forced labour in Malaysia.
This comes after Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Zuraida welcomed the decision by the US Customs and Borders Protection (CBP) to set up a working committee with the Malaysian government to address the issue of forced labour allegations.
However, it should be noted that in doing so, the minister went on the defensive, saying that Malaysian industries had not been treated fairly.
"It is sad to realise that our two ministers, (Human Resources Minister) Saravanan and Zuraida, are in the denial mode of the presence of forced labour.
"Both talk happily about establishing joint committees with the US CBP to get around the allegations of the widespread use of forced labour in industries that use cheap and malleable labour force.
"They think that the establishment of joint committees with the US BCP might be able to address these 'wild and unsubstantiated’ allegations of forced labour," said Ramasamy in a statement today.
He said the ministers must accept and acknowledge that there is widespread use of forced labour in the country, especially in plantations and low skills production establishments.
"Malaysia might be guided by the ILO considerations on forced labour but this alone is not enough to suggest the absence of forced labour in the country.
"Saravanan and Zuraida might have had pleasant meetings with the US authorities in relation to the use of forced labour in Malaysia, but the fact that the products of some Malaysian companies were barred from entry into the US might provide some indication of the use of forced labour.
"Saravanan and Zuraida cannot keep on misleading the Malaysian public as though allegations about forced labour are untrue," Ramasamy added.
Withhold Release Orders common
Yesterday, Zuraida called the establishment of the committee a move in the right direction, saying the issue had unfairly plagued local industries, in particular palm oil and rubber.
"As I have mentioned before, most of the claims of forced labour made by NGOs and other interest groups were not verified by the US authorities, which then resulted in Malaysian palm oil and palm oil products being banned.
"This is grossly unfair to our local industry," she claimed.
The US CBP has indeed reacted in the past to forced labour allegations against companies such as Top Glove by issuing a “Withhold Release Order” (WRO).
The International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) revealed in March this year that the estimated loss incurred by Top Glove Corporation Bhd during the period of the WRO imposed by the US CBP was RM3.6 billion.
On July 15, 2020, the US CBP issued a WRO on Top Glove on allegations of forced labour practices in the production process, including employee debt bondage, excessive overtime, violation of environmental conditions, workplace and accommodation facilities and detention of identification documents.
“However, the WRO restriction was lifted on Sept 10 last year after the CBP was satisfied with the evidence and actions taken by Top Glove, including the payment of compensation to employees and improving workplace facilities and accommodation for employees,” Miti had said.
In 2020, the US CBP had also barred Malaysian products of Sime Darby Plantation, the world's biggest palm oil planter by land size, citing reasonable suspicion of the use of forced labour. That allowed the authorities to detain goods at ports.
US protectionist policies
Ramasamy called on the two ministers to clarify if the issue of US protectionism might also be a factor.
"Another reason why the US is barring Malalaysian products might have to do with the US seeking to protect its domestic industries from unfair competition with products from Malaysia that are produced cheaply on the basis of subdued labour.
"The US might not be opposed to the implications of this is posing unfair competition to their products.
"I wonder whether our gung-ho ministers raised the issue of the US protectionist policies or were they so overwhelmed with the meetings with American officials that they lacked the dignity to adopt a critical perspective on forced labour?" he asked.
Ramasamy claimed that forced labour is something endemic to the Malaysian economy and cannot be eliminated by denying its presence.
"It is a problem that needs to be sorted out in the long run by attracting high-end investments and a high degree of industrialisation by reliance on human talents and skills.
"Our reliance on foreign workers is a pathway to the use of forced labour that will be squeezed against their will to attract surplus value in the form of greater profits," he said. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.