PETALING JAYA: A human rights activist has called for more comprehensive labour reforms in the country that extend beyond a change in human resources minister, a day after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced his first Cabinet shake-up since coming to power a year ago.
Adrian Pereira of North-South Initiative said rather than just replacing one minister with another, Anwar should look into concerns raised about the management of foreign workers’ recruitment in the 2022 Auditor-General’s Report, which found that the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System was not fully managed by the human resources ministry.
“Those are more fundamental (issues) than who becomes the minister, because the minister will have to follow whatever policy the Cabinet decides on,” said Pereira.
In yesterday’s reshuffle, V Sivakumar was replaced as human resources minister by former deputy finance minister Steven Sim, becoming the only minister to be dropped from the line-up.
Speaking to FMT, Pereira said since labour was a key factor driving the economy, the minister responsible for it should have the trust of the working class and a history of advocating for labour rights.
“In Malaysia, it’s a bit more complicated because you have Malaysian workers, you have migrant workers, and you have the whole human trafficking syndicate business.
“So, whoever is put there (as a minister) needs to understand how the economics of labour works.”
Meanwhile, migrant rights activist Andy Hall welcomed Sim’s appointment as he claimed Sivakumar had failed to take any “meaningful action” or find solutions to address the “increasingly systematic and serious” issue of forced labour which migrant workers faced in the country.
Hall said Malaysia required a long-term policy for foreign workers which equally prioritised national, economic and human security, adding that it should be developed and implemented under the leadership of the prime minister to ensure a holistic development.
He said placing foreign workers’ issues under the human resources ministry was “naive and impractical”.
“There are so many migrant workers in Malaysia now. Perhaps a majority are still irregular, and this issue, therefore, needs to be controlled from the top,” he told FMT.
“Foreign worker migration cannot be controlled by just the home ministry either, because migration has three aspects – national security, economic security and human security.
“The home ministry focuses on national security… and the human resources ministry focuses on labour and labour protection, not security, health, economics – so it’s not suitable either.
“This all leads to the conclusion that Malaysia’s prime minister needs to take control of this migration issue and have a task force urgently set up at the highest level, whereby migration policy is developed holistically and sensibly for the long-term sustainable future of Malaysian society, culture and economy.”
Sivakumar’s tenure was marred by a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission investigation into the recruitment of foreign workers. The anti-graft agency arrested three of his aides, releasing them after their four-day remand order expired. Sivakumar sacked five of his aides after the probe.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) secretary-general Kamarul Baharin Mansor said Sim was seen as having the potential to enact positive changes in his role as a “young” politician.
“He (Steven) faces a daunting task ahead, but MTUC is committed to offering our complete cooperation,” he said.
“We anticipate that he will be attentive and take proactive measures to address any concerns we may raise in the future.” - FMT
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