Employer no show, 33 foreign workers stranded in Klia for second time

 

Promises and hopes of a better life for 33 foreign workers were dashed when their alleged employer failed to show up upon their arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (Klia).

This is the second time in less than a month that the same employer did not show up to pick up the workers, despite promising to do so.

Speaking to Malaysiakini, one of the workers said that this was the second time they had come to Malaysia in less than a month.

“We were told by a worker agent in India (that we would be working for) a furniture manufacturer.

“However, after we arrived at Klia (on Jan 14) the immigration officer told us that we had to be sent back (to India) because our employer did not come to pick us up,” said the individual, who only wanted to be known as Kumaresan.

Kumaresan and his colleagues paid a return flight back to India on Jan 15, bearing the costs out of their own pockets.

He said that the agent had contacted them again in recent weeks to return to Malaysia.

"Yesterday, 33 of us came to Klia and were surprised when the employer did not show up again.

"This is not fair to us and the employer should be punished and bear the cost we spent to come and be sent home.

"If possible, we don't want to go home, we came to Malaysia legally and we want to work here. We have spent a lot (of money) to work in Malaysia," he said.

System hacked

When contacted, the company's representative said that they did not apply for employment of foreign workers.

The manager revealed that the company has lodged many complaints to the relevant authorities, including the Human Resources Ministry, immigration departments and the Malaysian Consulate in Chennai, India.

“Our company’s FWCMS (foreign workers centralised management system) account has been hacked twice by untraceable parties.

“We have reported the issue to the ministry, Immigration Department and the police. We have not applied to bring in any (foreign) workers,” said the company’s human resources manager.

The manager added that the company discovered on Jan 1 that its Visa with Reference (VDR) was hacked, and applied to bring in 77 foreign workers from India.

“We also found that there was a foreign name listed as our company’s representative in the system.

“The company immediately filed a complaint with the Johor Bahru Malaysian Immigration Department on the same day and lodged a police report,” he said.

The manager added that the company discovered another mishap on Jan 14 regarding the 33 Indian foreign workers arriving at Klia on that day using the company’s VDR.

He said that a company representative had filed a police report that same day.

“Furthermore, on Feb 1 we found that 31 Indian foreign worker permits had been printed. We found this out through a check from the eservices.imi.gov.my system.

“This matter is very disappointing because we have put in a lot of effort to prevent the third party from proceeding to the next step,” he said.

Malaysiakini has contacted the Immigration Department and the Human Resources Ministry for comment.

‘Not system’s fault’

Meanwhile, the operator of the FWCMS system, Bestinet, said it would guarantee full cooperation if needed to resolve the issue.

When contacted, chief executive officer Ismail Mohd Noor said Bestinet regrets the actions of those who take advantage and break the law and cause problems for the authorities and foreign workers.

"Bestinet confirms that there are no technical problems in the FWCMS that have been identified," he said.

According to him, after the first case in January, Bestinet cooperated with the authorities regarding the issue of misuse of the company's name in the recruitment of foreign workers and handed over the records of the FWCMS system, MyImms, and the list of visa approval numbers to the police.

"Our findings show that there is a dubious addition of individuals as company representatives in the MyIMMS system.

"FWCMS is not allowed to add company representatives directly in the system.

"The addition of company representatives is only allowed in the MyIMMS and FWCMS systems only using the information after it has been downloaded," he said.

He added that Bestinet has left it to the police to investigate and take further action against individuals who are additional nominees and identify any violations of the law that may have occurred in the matter. - Mkini