YOURSAY | Money politics root cause of migrant worker abuse

 

YOURSAY | ‘The government has no political will to stop this.’

Migrant workers: ‘Employers’ raking in millions through ‘A to B’ syndicate

MarioT: Thank you Malaysiakini journalist B Nantha Kumar and team for your exhaustive report, detailing the syndicated corrupt practices in the recruitment of migrant workers.

It is a known fact that without the involvement of senior officials from many government departments and agencies, this “lucrative” illegal business would not have been possible.

The blood money made at the expense of the poor migrant workers goes to show how heartless and cruel these people are.

The value of life becomes a trading commodity no different from the slave trade of the past.

Living in luxury with ill-gotten money has become the hallmark of our civil service.

World Citizen: I recently came across an article that said The Wall Street Journal has named Malaysia the most corrupt country in the world for business, and news like this Malaysiakini exclusive is a testament to that.

It is well documented that foreign worker recruitment in Malaysia is highly corrupt.

Politicians and government servants from various agencies and ministries as well as recruitment agents both in Malaysia and the source countries suck the blood out of the poor migrant workers and their employers.

How can Malaysia attract investments and how can the country progress?

The whole recruitment process must be overhauled completely. Make it as simple as possible and cut out all the middlepersons and agents from the system.

Those involved in these devious schemes should be punished to the full extent of the law.

But alas, this can only be a dream and fantasy in this “Bolehland” as most people in power, namely the politicians, government servants and everybody with a little bit of influence, are all involved in this dirty business.

God bless this country.

WhiteHornet2439: The root cause of all the shenanigans is money politics and the deep-seated culture of corruption in the civil service.

Every prime minister knows this but they either look the other way or give tacit approval as they, too, need political funding.

If staying in power or attaining power is the goal, then these selfish people will continue to support corruption!

There is a Chinese saying that goes, “a fish rots from the head”.

Just look at the Sabah whistleblower saga.

Instead of getting to the bottom of the allegations, the usual soap opera has started. Is this to protect those in power?

Fear of losing the next election if action is taken against the corrupt? Here’s food for thought.

Take these corrupt people out and put in trustworthy replacements. I am sure the citizens will know the difference and support a clean government.

JusticeNow!: The problem is in the stupid workflow for recruiting migrant workers!

By allowing employers to apply and hold quotas, the system opens the door to abuse and exploitation.

At the end of the day, it results in a higher cost of living for the rakyat because someone has to pay for the profit that goes into the pockets of these human traffickers!

It will eventually be cost channelled into our food, drinks and everything else. And the migrant workers pay the human price for this severely inhuman exploitation and abuse.

Enforcement is not that difficult if only the Immigration Department or the Human Resources Ministry has the will to do it.

It is not difficult to audit everyone who has over 100 quotas onsite, let alone those with 1,000.

Then they prosecute the quota holders and officers who approve the quota.

Knucklehead: I recently encountered an offer for a “freelance migrant worker” arrangement.

For RM1,000 paid to an agent, a Bangladeshi worker would be placed in the factory hostel within two days and start work the following day

The agent claimed there was no need to contribute to Socso or pay the levy, as these would supposedly be handled by the worker or agent.

It sounded highly illegal, so I avoided it - such shortcuts will catch up with you sooner or later.

This experience highlights how deeply ingrained such practices are in Malaysia.

Unscrupulous agents profit by exploiting workers in this way.

It also raises a bigger question: How many migrant workers are in the country? Could there be as many as 10 million?

Lionking: Well done, Malaysiakini. Is there any limit to corruption in Malaysia?

This is shocking and foreigners are minting money at the expense of the poor rakyat.

This can never happen without the collusion of politicians, cronies and civil servants.

It is about time Pakatan Harapan acted more drastically against such thieves.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, we are waiting for your return to act on the rice cartel and this visa syndicate.

Mano: We, the very ordinary people, have heard often enough of some connected people holding quotas for migrant worker permits.

This is a long-standing issue.

Many foreigners run businesses alongside our citizens (without paying taxes, etc) like grocery shops, renovation contractors, gardeners, plumbers and so on.

Name it and the foreigners are doing it with the help of rent-seekers and enforcement agencies.

If we ordinary people know, the politicians, top civil servants and others are all equally aware.

These foreigners are considered patriotic and bestowed royal titles.

IndigoKiwi9570: Corrupt civil servants should also be charged under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act.

This will serve as a lesson to other civil servants. Transferring to other departments is not a solution or a deterrent.

Ayam Kampung: Malaysiakini must be commended and given awards for their excellent underground reporting.

However, exposing this scam is one thing.

What action will be taken? We all know how this story ends.

The story will fade from the public eye with no concrete action taken to nab the big shots behind the scam.

VS: We do have corrupt enforcement officers and civil servants. They should be removed from service if found guilty of such acts.

If the department itself is corrupt, we are doomed.

Alamak negaraku: All business will go back to square one after a small storm. There is no political will to prevent this. - Mkini