Charles calls home minister to overhaul recruitment system

Former Klang MP Charles Santiago has urged Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail to revamp the labour recruitment system in Malaysia.

Charles (above) likened the system to modern-day slave trading, referring to a Malaysiakini report that exposed traffickers who exploited migrant workers into forced labour.

“Migrant workers are entrapped by these traffickers who hold their salaries and passports - both of which violate the law.

“These traffickers, who disguise themselves as labour agents, convince employers to bypass the formal application process for foreign workers.

“It is time that Saifuddin overhauls a flawed recruitment system, otherwise we will not be able to address forced labour accusations and will be stuck in Tier 3 of TIP (Trafficking in Persons Report),” the DAP member said.

The Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report is issued annually by the United States’ Department of State where it ranks countries and governments based on their efforts to combat human trafficking.

Tier 3, the lowest ranking in the report, signifies that a country or government does not fully comply with the requirements for the eradication of trafficking nor is it making a major effort to do so.

Malaysia was in Tier 2 of the US TIP Report 2017, Tier 2 Watch List from 2018 to 2020, and Tier 3 in 2021 and 2022.

On May 3, Saifuddin said the government voiced its commitment to improving the country’s position in the TIP Report.

Yesterday, Malaysiakini published an investigative report on the country’s labour recruitment system where not only were migrant workers openly traded, but traffickers earn perpetual commissions from those who come to Malaysia in search of employment.

Malaysiakini discovered that traffickers charge employers a fee and take commissions from workers’ wages, leaving them with little pay.

The scheme also involves trapping workers by holding their passports and collecting their salaries.

Malaysiakini also found that the practice is widespread and goes unpunished, as scalpers openly contact desperate employers through cold calls to help them overcome labour shortages. - Mkini