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Emigration and Immigration are part and parcel of man’s prehistory and history. Even the indigenous people of Malaya, and now Malaysia, came from some other parts of the region.
Blogger, too, was a foreigner in other lands. As a student, he studied in Singapore for 3 years. Later, he went to New Zealand as a postgraduate student, and soon became part of the labour force. He and his wife spent a total of 6 years there. Those were some of the best years of our lives.
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3D Jobs: Jobs that are Dangerous, Dirty and Difficult.
The lecherous (ham-sup) foreign worker, the busker’s wife and the busker…
Malaysia: Foreigners and crime
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18 February 2016
Malay Mail Online
Migrant group fears for safety of foreign workers after link drawn to terrorism, rape
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 18 — Claims by local NGOs that the intake of 1.5 million Bangladeshis into the country would open the floodgates to terrorism and rape could lead to sporadic violence against foreign workers here, the Migrant Working Group (MWG) cautioned.
Its executive director Sumitra V said the statement made by the president of Pertubuhan Rapat Malaysia (Rapat) was clearly “xenophobic”, adding that racism and xenophobia has no place in a multiracial society like Malaysia’s.
“It’s simply xenophobic and xenophobia has no place in a civil discourse,” Sumitra told Malay Mail Online.
“The issue that should have been raised is that there is a population of undocumented foreign workers here and that we should work towards getting them within the legal framework, which would then give them protection and rights.
“Such views can open them to xenophobic attacks, a trigger for (violent) action so we have to be really careful with what we say,” she added.
At a press conference yesterday, Pertubuhan Rapat Malaysia (Rapat) president A. Rajaretinam said the influx of migrant workers here was a major threat to national security and health, and that these foreigners could promote terror activities like the Islamic State (IS).
The coalition of non-government organisations also warned of dire socio-economic repercussions, including a spike in terror activities, rape cases and loss of business opportunities for locals.
Later, the same view was repeated by the Malay Consultative Council (MPM), another coalition that is said to represent over 50 Malay-Muslim NGOs.
At MPM’s press conference, the group’s secretary-general Datuk Dr Hasan Mad alleged that some foreign workers bring with them new diseases, which he warned could spread to locals during their term of employment in Malaysia.
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8 February 2016
Foreigners throng KL for Chinese New Year http://bit.ly/1nXu8wB
Published: 8 February 2016 4:13 PM
They were seen shopping, eating and chit-chatting with their fellow countrymen at Leboh Pudu and Central Market in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.
Bangladeshi national Masum Akmal, 30, said that the holidays are a great time to gather in the city.
“This is the only time where we can meet our relatives and friends from all over the city and Selangor.
“It is good to catch up with them because we rarely get the chance,” he said.
Masum said that he likes coming to Leboh Pudu because of the variety of shops.
“We can find all kinds of products here. From electrical and electronic appliances to good deals on mobile phones,” he said.
A Bangladeshi national who only wanted to be known as Lita said Leboh Pudu has always been a meeting place for him and his friends.
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5 January 2016
Who controls KL’s Jalan Silang?
Jalan Silang is the former name of Jalan Tun Tan Siew Sin.
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Myanmarese, Nepalese, Indonesians, Filipinos and Bangladeshis have ‘colonialised’ several areas in the federal capital, including parts of Sentul, Cheras, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman and Jalan Tun Perak.
Jalan Tun Tan Siew Sin, still better known by its former name Jalan Silang, in the heart of the city, is typical of an area that foreigners have made their own.
Monitoring the area for a week is enough for Bernama journalists to feel like they were in another country as foreign nationals especially Bangladeshis, filled every nook and cranny doing a myriad of businesses.
These foreigners were seen to have dominated sundry shops, restaurants and fashion stores and not seemed awkward at all to be in this foreign land.
In fact, it was the locals, who received the uncomfortable glances every time they passed through the area, as if they were the foreigners.
Looking at the foreign language signage and advertising board will make anyone look askance whether he is in Malaysia, Bangladesh or Nepal.
Local traders are aliens
“The local community calls it the Bangla City because of the teeming Bangladeshi nationals here,” said a trader who only wanted to be known as Along.
He said in the 10 years he had been running his business there, it was difficult to catch sight of a local citizen and the majority of people he saw were foreign men.
https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/325471
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4 January 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=12&v=a5yAiymM8dM
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Harian Metro Johor #johorbahru 240 PATI dipenjara tujuh bulan. Selanjutnya di http://hmtro.com/1OFCEMj
Hakim Mahkamah Sesyen PATI Depot Imigresen Pekan Nenas Pontian Salawati Djambari memerintahkan hukuman dijalankan dari tarikh tangkapan 13 Disember lalu.
Mengikut kertas pertuduhan mereka didakwa melakukan kesalahan berkenaan di sebuah kawasan di Jalan Persiaran Mega berhadapan persimpangan Taman Perindustrian Nusa Cemerlang Gelang Patah kira kira 1 pagi.
– See more at: http://www.hmetro.com.my/node/104792#sthash.thlvKn3e.dpuf
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6 December 2015
Locals pour scorn on new migrant communities in the heart of KL
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The mushrooming of new migrant communities stamping their presence at the heart of Kuala Lumpur is not something that local Malaysians seem to have taken kindly to.
Over the past five years, central KL’s oldest alleys and streets had been slowly transformed into a hub for the new migrants – foreign workers from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar, just to name a few.
Shops mushroomed to an extent that there are now signboards exclusively in Nepali and other native languages, with the individuals manning businesses in these streets speaking very little Bahasa Malaysia and more comfortable conversing in their own language.
There are very few Malaysians who have witnessed the evolution of these streets but Louis Yap, who owns a watch shop that has stood in the same location for 43 years now, is one of them.
The shop was founded by Yap’s father, who is now 77 years old.
“They are foreigners. Who gave them the licence? They should not have the licence to do business,” Yap told The Malaysian Insider.
“Look around. Where are the Malaysian businesses?” he said.
He said that the place was previously dominated by many Chinese and Malay businesses which somehow made way to shops now being run by the migrant communities.
“Things were normal until maybe five or six years ago. Then, all of a sudden, these guys started coming in,” he said.
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Louis Yap took over the watch shop business that his 77-year-old father started in Leboh Pasar 43 years ago. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Wan Asraf, December 6, 2015.
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Yap’s watch shop, which largely attracts loyal customers who had lived in the area and shopped there for decades, is one of a now rare breed of locally-owned shops remaining in the main enclave between Leboh Pasar and Jalan Petaling.
There’s an occasional jewellery shop, and a watch repair shop – but that’s as far as the presence of local businesses in these areas go.
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INDONESIANS COME TO WORK. I know at least one who works very hard, seven days a week. He has a 12 year-old son at home and a wife. His little girl died of illness. We want such people who work hard and are honest.
Some come to rob. We don’t want these!
And many Indonesian women come to give birth!
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10:51AM Apr 17, 2015
Indonesians prefer to give birth in M’sian hospitals
Indonesians prefer to give birth in Malaysian hospitals http://bit.ly/1FQs6zo
Many Indonesian women who live in areas near the border with Sarawak are choosing to give birth in Malaysia.
According to the Kompas newspaper, most pregnant women in the Kapuas Hulu district located in Badau, Indonesia-Malaysia border, chose to give birth in hospitals in Sarawak so that their children will have access to medical care and be able to enter schools in Malaysia for free.
A 42-year-old woman, Katarina Iba, said many mothers chose to give birth in Sarawak as the state had well-equipped hospitals with the latest amenities and patients received good services.
Pregnant women in the area are said to enter Malaysia legally across the border in Badau.
However, there are also cases where they get their early treatment in government hospitals in Malaysia but give birth in government hospitals in Indonesia.
This is because they want to register the birth in Indonesia.
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/295546
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FOUR RAN ACROSS THE HIGHWAY BUT TWO WERE HIT BY A TRAILER
theSundaily
Trailer lorry rams two men fleeing from police
ALOR GAJAH: Two men believed to be foreign nationals were killed in a road accident as they tried to run away from policemen who had wanted to check on them at Km216.2 of the south-bound stretch of the North-South Expressway here last night.
Malacca CID chief ACP Raja Shahrom Raja Abdullah said the men, in their early 30s, died on the spot after they were rammed by a trailer lorry as they dashed across the road with two other men at about 10.30pm.
He said a police patrol car had ordered the four men, who were in a car with a broken rear windscreen, to pull over for an inspection.
However, when the police car stopped, the men drove off fast towards the Simpang Ampat toll plaza and ran into a toll booth barrier, he told reporters.
Raja Shahrom said the car then sped off against traffic towards the Ayer Keroh toll plaza and returned to the Simpang Ampat toll plaza and stopped on the right of south-bound stretch of the highway.
The four men alighted and ran across the road, he said, adding that two of them were hit by the trailer lorry.
http://www.thesundaily.my/news/1338819
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FOREIGNERS ARE NOT WELCOME IF THEY ARE NOT TOURISTS WHO ‘BEHAVE’ AND HAVE MONEY TO SPEND…
SINGAPORE: At Vivo City, it is not unusual for the seats to be removed on Sundays to prevent Filipino maids from occupying them in crowds during their day off.
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KUALA LUMPUR: Foreigners who are immigrant workers are not warmly received for many reasons…
Central Market, or Pasar Seni as it is more popularly known, in Kuala Lumpur is one of the venues where foreign workers congregate during long holidays and locals are accusing them of lack of cleanliness and civic-mindedness. – The Malaysian Insider pic, February 21, 2015.
The irresponsible attitude of foreigners who come by the droves to the federal capital to sightsee, in conjunction with the Chinese New Year holiday season is causing disgust and anger among locals.
A Bernama survey in the areas around Suria KLCC, Central Market and shopping centres in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman found many foreigners spitting indiscriminately at five-foot paths, bus stands, parks and outside shopping centres.
Throwing caution to the wind, some of them were also seen chewing betel nut and spitting at random, dirtying the surrounding areas.
At the bus-cum-taxi stand in front of KLCC, many foreign nationals were seen placing their feet on concrete benches while smoking and discarding cigarette butts indiscriminately.
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A local visitor, M.Karupiah, 40, who went to the Central Market to shop was also of the opinion that most foreign nationals he met did not observe cleanliness, especially in areas of tourist focus.
“They are not civic-minded and dumped garbage indiscriminately although rubbish bins were provided,” he observed.
Meanwhile, a stall trader near the Sogo shopping complex, Hasimah Awang, 50, expressed disappointment at the behaviour of foreign nationals who spat and threw garbage discriminately.
“Numerous waste bins are provided but they still insisted in throwing rubbish everywhere. So, it is little wonder that the condition in Kuala Lumpur is dirtier than normal on public holidays,” she noted.
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When these Indonesians had a disagreement, it turned to bloodshed.
NST
Man in critical condition after parang attack in Klang
21 February 2015 @ 9:15 AM
KLANG: A man is in critical condition when he was stabbed with a parang after a fight broke out between his group of friends and another group in a shopping mall, here, last night.
The 31-year old Indonesian man was said to have come with his group of friends to a karaoke joint in the mall and was involved in a verbal fight with another Indonesian group.
According to eyewitnesses, the suspects, five medium-built men with shoulder-length hair, attacked the victim and his friends with parang after the quarrel.
The victim’s friends immediately fled the scene leaving him bleeding alone after the attack.
http://www.nst.com.my/node/73474
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GEORGE TOWN: A total of 34 illegal immigrants, including four women, were arrested in the ‘Op Rantau’ raid conducted at Bukit Jambul Shopping Complex here in Penang today.
Illegal immigrants nabbed during #CNY raid in #Penang http://www.nst.com.my/node/73328
A spokesperson from the police said some 400 people, including 80 women, were inspected during the raid.
“They were 128 Indonesian nationals, Nepal (129), Bangladesh (77), Myanmar (17), Vietnam (9), Pakistan (3) and one Sri Lanka national”.
The 34 suspects who were detained had no valid documents and passport while some had overstayed in the country.
The detainees comprise six Nepalese, 11 from Myanmar, Bangladesh (2), Pakistan (2) and Indonesia (13).
http://www.nst.com.my/node/73328
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Migrant workers dumped by firm are ‘starving’.
Migrant workers dumped by bankrupt firm are starving Not paid their salaries for months now, they owe shops and… http://fb.me/2unnkYtxb
Losing their jobs after the factory they worked for went belly-up has turned out to be the worst of the worries for 531 migrant workers in Johor.
Penniless after not being paid their wages for several months, the migrant workers now find that they owe three sundry shops, an eatery and Tenaga Nasional Bhd up to RM200,000.
As a result, Malay daily Harian Metro, which visited some of the workers at their quarters in Taman Perindustrian Grisek near Muar, reported that the workers are no longer extended credit to buy food and are now “starving”.
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On Monday, Malaysiakini reported that the workers from Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are stranded after the company, a furniture manufacturer based in Tangkak, Johor, went bankrupt.
MTUC Johor secretary K Mohanadas said the workers are also worried that their electricity will be cut as TNB says they owe around 10,000 in back fees.
This is despite the company deducting their wages for electricity and water before this, Mohanadas said.
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/277621
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11:35AM Oct 13, 2014
Factory goes bust, 500 migrants abandoned
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FOREIGNERS IN OUR LAND HAVE RIGHTS, TOO!
THEY CANED HIM AND IMPRISONED HIM WHILE HIS CASE WAS UNDER APPEAL. NOW HE SUES FOR WRONGFUL IMPRISONMENT.
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（檳城11日訊）一名指遭法庭錯判，被“非法”囚禁90天兼鞭笞3下的孟加拉籍建築工友，今日入稟法庭起訴大馬政府、警方與移民局各造，索賠每一鞭100萬令吉兼每天2萬5000令吉的賠償。http://www.chinapress.com.my/node/516525
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Bangla Deshi, Alamin Sheikh Badsha Sheikh, was found to be without a valid travel document and work permit on June 6 last year in Bukit Mertajam at a police roadblock. His documents were with his employer.
Today, Alamin Sheikh Badsha Sheikh is suing the Malaysian government, director-general and investigating officer of the Immigration Department, the inspector-general of police, the Penang police chief, and the investigating police officer for RM3 million (RM1 million for each stroke).
Malaysiakini
2:18PM Apr 11, 2014
Foreign worker sues gov’t for wrongful imprisonment
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A 28-year-old Bangladeshi worker was arrested and jailed by the magistrate’s court in Bukit Mertajam and whipped with three strokes of the rotan by the Prisons Department last year despite having a valid working permit until July this year.
He was caned on Oct 9 last year, and jailed from July 19 until Nov 18 last year as he had pleaded guilty to the case.
However, the Penang High Court on Oct 25 last year revised his case and set aside the conviction under Section 6(3) of the Immigration Act.
To Judge Zamani Abdul Rahim’s surprise and astonishment, the worker had already been caned and his sentence fulfilled, said lawyer S Raveentharan at a press conference today.
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“The man is innocent. Is this a case of where justice hurried is justice buried by the authorities?
“The execution of the sentencing was hurried indeed for reasons only known by the Malaysian Crown officers, namely the Prisons Department and Police Department,” he said.
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/259740
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Malaysian Insider
Side Views
Aliens in the land: Indian migrant workers in Malaysia (Part 1) — Amarjit Kaur
FEB 20 — In the past 130 years, the number of foreign migrant workers in Malaya has grown from about 84,000 in 1880 to more than three million in 2010. Originally, foreign workers were predominantly from China and India and most were locked into semi-permanent “labour circulation” arrangements through their employment contracts.
Currently, foreign workers originate from a range of South and Southeast Asian countries, and Indonesians dominate labour flows. These workers migrate to Malaysia because they and their governments believe that temporary labour migration is a pathway to development. Predictably, most have also become trapped in circulating contract labour regimes.
The debate on the developmental impacts of migration meanwhile continues to exclude discussion on the risks involved and the longer-term consequences of temporary migration. There is no conversation either on integration of earlier cohorts of migrant workers in society, let alone recent migrant workers who are increasingly referred to as aliens. The outlook is particularly gloomy for Malaysia’s marginalised South Indian plantation workers who became “orphans of empire” when hardliners in the ruling United Malays National Organisation legislated to deny them citizenship rights.
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This is Part 1 of a two part series revisiting the history of Indian migrant workers in then Malaya, now citizens of Malaysia and exploring the possible reasons for the continued backwardness of a significant number of them by Professor Amarjit Kaur, University of New England. Part 2 appears tomorrow.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.
Aliens in the land: Indian migrant workers in Malaysia (Part 1) — Amarjit Kaur
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29 January 2013| last updated at 08:57PM
Foreign workers worsen traffic flow
GEORGE TOWN: MANY shop houses along Jalan Gurdwara here are being rented out to foreign workers whose haphazard bicycle parking is driving locals crazy.A woman, who runs a coffee shop near one of the shop houses, complained that the foreigners cared little about the traffic flow in the area.”They will just stop and leave their bicycles by the roadside and have long conversations.”They make things worse because the traffic here is usually congested,” said the woman, who wanted to be known only as Tan.Tan said that many foreigners rent one shop house to save cost and they could be frequently seen going shopping and chatting in groups.Worried that the growing population of foreign workers in the city could create social problems, Tan hopes the state government and the local authority could devise a plan to control the number of immigrants in the area.
One of the premises in Jalan Gurdwara that is occupied by foreigners. Pic by Anis Nabilla Md WazilahRead more: Foreign workers worsen traffic flow – Northern – New Straits Times———————————————————————
Admittedly there are many good foreign workers but the price to pay in the increasing crime rate caused by those who are jobless is just too high a price.
Free Malaysia Today
The foreign invasion
Is the government taking in large number of foreign workers to fulfill a specific purpose? Otherwise why the increasing influx?
Under the tenure of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, citizenship has been given out to foreigners who landed on Sabahan shores.
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In fact one of the greatest invasion has and is currently taking place in Kuala Lumpur is the invasion by Bangladeshis who have now overwhelmed the city in these locations:
1. Jalan Hang Lekir; 2. Jalan Hang Lekiu; 3. Jalan Hang Kasturi; 4. Lebuh Pudu, areas surrounding Pudu Sentral and Menara Maybank; 5. Chinatown, Jalan Petaling and Jalan Sultan; 6. Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, Jalan Tun HS Lee and Jalan Tun Tan Siew Sin; 7. Jalan Yap Ah Loy; 8. Jalan Tun Perak and Lebuh Ampang; 9. Areas surrounding Central Market (Pasar Seni) and Kota Raya
Other areas in KL where there are lots of foreigners: 1. Jalan Raja Laut, Jalan Chow Kit and the Lorong Haji Taib areas populated by Indonesians; 2. Selayang Wholesale Market populated by Myanmarese; and 3. Sentul populated by Bangladeshis and Indians from India.
Currently the government’s evil game plan is this: keep a portion of the citizens and the large corporations well-fed and comfortable so that they will not speak out against the government and keep another portion of the citizens poor so that they will always need to depend on the government for handouts and assistance.
Thus by this Machiavellian scheme, both the poor and the rich will vote to keep BN in power.
We have to break free from this system by booting out the rogues using the ballot box. Ironically as the right-thinking citizens are trying to vote in a new federal government, those who are given fast-tracked citizenship will be trying to maintain the incumbent government in the federal seat of power.
Thus in order for a new federal government to be voted in, all genuine Malaysians must vote in favour of Pakatan Rakyat. Otherwise, Pakatan will not have the numbers and we the rakyat can truly be said to be dumb and doomed.
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101 East – Worked to death
Video:
The deaths of thousands of migrant workers in recent years bring Malaysia’s safety standards into question.
http://aje.me/QOJ9il
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Free Malaysia Today
’1,000 foreign workers died in M’sia last year’
The Al-Jazeera television station also claims that foreign workers in Malaysia work in so-called 3D conditions – dirty, dangerous and difficult.
by Jared Pereira
PETALING JAYA: More than 1,000 foreign workers died from accidents, illnesses and suicide in Malaysia last year, while thousands of immigrant workers have lost their lives in the country over the last few years, an Al Jazeera report claimed.
“They [foreign workers in Malaysia] work in so-called ’3D’ conditions – dirty, dangerous and difficult,” the international television station said in a programme called 101 East.
In a 25-minute video report by Chan Tau Chou entitled “Worked to Death”, Al Jazeera claimed that the high death rate is a result of slack safety standards, poor housing conditions and weak enforcement of laws to protect the foreign labour.
It claimed that Malaysia was the largest importer of labour in Asia where migrant workers provide cheap labour in construction, manufacturing and plantation industries.
“There are more than three million foreign workers, of which nearly a third are undocumented. Most of the migrant workers come from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Nepal.
“Desperate to repay debts from the high recruitment agency fees and under financial pressure from their families back home, migrant workers are vulnerable to exploitation. Many suffer non-payment of wages, abuse, serious injuries and even death,” the report claimed.
The video report depicts the mundane and often extremely dangerous lifestyle migrant workers are subjected to in Malaysia.
It also features the plight of these foreign workers, who are ill-protected against exploitation which involves the non-payment of salaries, physical abuse and most significantly, death.
’1,000 foreign workers died in M’sia last year’
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Free Malaysia Today
Thousands of foreign workers have died in Malaysia in recent years from accidents, illnesses and suicide. They work in so-called ‘3D’ conditions – dirty, dangerous and difficult.
Critics say the death rate is a result of slack safety standards, poor housing conditions and weak enforcement of laws to protect them. Last year, more than 1,000 foreign workers died from accidents, illnesses and suicide.
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Malaysian Insider
Side Views
Indonesian migrant workers for sale, rape? — The Jakarta Post
NOV 16 — The circulation of leaflets stating “Indonesian maids now on sale” in Kuala Lumpur early this month may not incite widespread anger here, but a report of an Indonesian migrant worker gang-raped by three policemen in the Malaysian state of Penang is a far more serious matter the neighbouring country needs to address.
The case, although it might happen to only one of about two million Indonesian migrant workers (TKI) employed in Malaysia both legally and illegally, will risk straining bilateral ties between the two countries if not settled in a way that satisfies the Indonesian public and the government.
Such a potential for a new diplomatic row is apparent now that the Indonesian government has condemned the alleged rape and demanded strict enforcement of the law to make sure the three officers, if found guilty, receive the most severe punishment. Indonesia will issue a diplomatic note to officially protest the incident and a series of nationalism-driven rallies outside the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta are expected to follow.
It was Migrant Care, the advocacy group for migrant workers overseas, who first broke the news about the alleged rape of the female migrant worker, who was identified only as S, a native of Batang, Central Java. The NGO says the rape occurred after S begged for her release after being taken to the Prai police station in Penang, for failing to show her passport while in a taxi on her way home to Taman Inderawasih, Prai that Friday.
The woman defied the officers’ warning not to tell anyone about the incident. That S may be one of hundreds of thousands of undocumented Indonesian migrant workers does not and should not justify the crime. Neither can anyone blame the absence of a passport for leading S to the sexual violence.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, and the government, is right in perceiving S as a victim of law enforcers who abused their power against people who they should have protected.
Currently, S is being sheltered at the Indonesian Consulate General in Penang to undergo treatment that will help her recover before she can testify in court. Jakarta needs to ensure her testimony against the police officers will help the judges deliver justice not only for herself but also the nation.
It is heartening that Malaysian police have taken immediate actions in response to the rape report, including by holding the three suspects at the Bukit Mertajam magistrate’s court. Deputy Penang Police chief Comr. Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi said the three were investigated under Section 376 of the Penal Code for rape, which is punishable for a maximum of 20 years of jail sentence and liable to whipping.
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Migrant workers are people who are willing to take the risk and brave ordeals in order to build their dreams of a decent life and have, in fact, contributed a lot to the state through remittances they send home. They are there not for sale, let alone rape. — The Jakarta Post Online
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.
Indonesian migrant workers for sale, rape? — The Jakarta Post
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Malaysian Insider
NGO calls for immediate moratorium on Indonesian workers
JAKARTA, Nov 16 — An Indonesian non-governmental organisation has called for an immediate moratorium on Indonesian workers in Malaysia following recent cases of abuse and mistreatment.
Migrant Care said the freeze should cover both the formal and informal sectors.
Its director, Anis Hidayah, spoke to reporters in front of the Malaysian embassy during a protest there over the rape of an Indonesian worker in Penang on November 9 by three Malaysian policemen.
Indonesia had imposed a moratorium in 2009 on workers in the informal sector to Malaysia following several cases of abuse involving domestic maids by their employers in Malaysia.
The moratorium was withdrawn on December 1 last year after the Malaysian and Indonesian authorities agreed to implement a memorandum of understanding on the recruitment and placement of Indonesian maids signed on May 31 last year in Bandung, western Java.
Today’s demonstration involved about 60 people, 40 of them from Migrant Care and several Indonesian women’s organisations and the rest from the Indonesian National Undergraduates Movement.
In Butterworth, Malaysia, three policemen were charged in the Sessions Court today with raping an Indonesian worker and committing carnal intercourse against the order of nature on her at the Perai Police Barracks last Friday.
The trio pleaded not guilty to the charges. — Bernama
NGO calls for immediate moratorium on Indonesian workers
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Malaysiakini
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A local NGO dealing with migrant workers’ plight is not confident that the authorities are taking their condemnation of rape incidents involving the group seriously.
Jaring Utara Migrasi dan Perlarian (Jump) representative S Sudhagar Stanley today dismissed as “pure rubbish” federal government responses on the issue thus far.
He added that it was “purely drama” to convince the Indonesian government that they are serious about the matter.
“Ask any migrant rights NGO in this country and they will have tonnes of stories and experiences with the federal government to tell you,” Stanley, a Jump board member, told Malaysiakini.
“For many years human rights groups in this country have been asking for the Independent Police Conduct and Monitoring Committee (IPCMC) to be set up but all these calls have fallen on deaf ears,” he added.
Stanley, whose office is based at the Penang Office for Human Development, was referring to the recent incident where an Indonesian worker was allegedly gang-raped by three policemen in Prai.
Maid rape issue earns gov’t migrant NGO’s wrath
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Foreign workers in our country are often set upon by others…
NST
13 November 2012 | last updated at 07:10PM
Foreigners abducted, beaten, robbed, raped
CAMERON HIGHLANDS: Three Bangladeshi nationals had a horrible experience when they were abducted, robbed and beaten by five suspects who impersonated policemen.
One of the victims, a 23-year-old woman, was also repeatedly raped by the bogus policemen in an empty house in Batu 33, Ringlet, here on Sunday.
The woman and her two colleagues, aged 28 and 45, were earlier robbed and beaten after they were abducted from their “kongsi” home, two kilometres from the crime scene about 7.30pm.
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District police chief Deputy Superintendent Wan Mohd Zahari Wan Busu said police had arrested all the suspects, including the 33-year-old mastermind, while they were busy dividing the money among themselves.
He said police also confiscated the two cars used by them.
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14 November 2012 | last updated at 08:17AM
3 cops likely to face rape charge
JUSTICE: Indonesian govt confident with Malaysian police’s handling of case
GEORGE TOWN: THE Indonesian government is confident that the Malaysian police can resolve the alleged rape case involving an Indonesian maid and three policemen justly.
Acting Indonesian consul-general Sofiana Mufidah said all Indonesian helpers here should also remain calm and control their emotions until the matter had been resolved.
“We have faith that the Malaysian police will act fairly and without bias throughout the course of their investigations,” she said at the state police headquarters yesterday.
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Meanwhile, police have recommended that three policemen, aged between 25 and 35, who allegedly raped the foreigner be charged with rape.
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Free Malaysia Today
‘Probe foreigners taking up businesses, jobs’
A business leader is urging the government to probe ‘well-funded’ foreigners starting up businesses and offering easy payment scheme to customers.
PETALING JAYA: Instead of probing Suaram for receiving foreign funds, a business leader today urged the government to investigate how foreigners are able to get funds to set up businesses in the country.
“They are so cash rich that they are able to set up mobile phone shops and restaurants in prominent areas. Some are so well funded that they are able to provide easy payments schemes to customers,” said Malaysian Indian Business Assocation (Miba) president P Sivakumar.
In order to gain better access to business permits, Sivakumar claimed that some of these foreigners even marry local women and apply for license through their spouses.
“We need a better mechanism to keep tabs on this. Malaysia is becoming a haven to foreigners and illegal immigrants,” he said.
Apart from businesses, Sivakumar also said that foreigners have conquered much of the local blue-collar jobs, depriving locals of job opportunities.
“Look at hotels, petrol kiosks and some markets. They are everywhere. Indians are affected most by this. The community is hard pressed to survive and turn to crime for a living,” he said.
Probe foreigners taking up businesses, jobs’
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Bangladesh officials hope to send some 500,000 workers to Malaysia once the pact is signed. 40,000 needed just for the palm oil plantation sector.
There are now 200,00 Bangladeshi workers in the country.
Malaysian Insider
KL seeks Bangladeshis to avert estate workers squeeze
Editor
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 ― A Malaysian delegation will visit Dhaka tomorrow to discuss bringing back Bangladeshis to work in various industries, particularly the palm oil plantation sector now facing a shortage of workers and competition from Indonesia that could affect the country’s economic performance, officials say.
Putrajaya barred entry to Bangladesh manpower nearly five years ago but is in dire need of foreign workers, including 40,000 just for the palm oil plantation sector to harvest the ripe fruit bunches in order to achieve the 19.3 million tonnes of oil output target this year.
Human Resource Minister Datuk Seri S. Subramaniam will head a Malaysian delegation for talks in Dhaka tomorrow, bringing along employers and Home Ministry officials to determine re-opening the labour market to Bangladeshi workers.
Bangladesh Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) director-general Shamsun Nahar told bdnews24.com last week that the Malaysian delegation wants to see recruitment procedures before making a final decision and signing a pact for workers. Malaysia now recruits manpower from 13 countries.
Bangladesh officials hope to send some 500,000 workers to Malaysia once the pact is signed. Despite halting Bangladeshis from getting work permits since October 2007, Bangladesh officials said records showed 742 Bangladeshi workers had gone to work in Malaysia in 2011. The ban on Bangladeshi workers is the second implemented, with the first being in 1999.
Before that, 131,000 workers took up jobs in Malaysia in 2008, down from the 273,000 workers who came in 2007.
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The local palm oil industry had warned that Malaysia is already losing billions of ringgit in palm oil exports because there is not enough foreign workers to harvest fruit bunches.
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The sector used to rely on Indonesian workers but most have stayed back in their country, which is now a major palm oil producer and has been aggressive with tax cuts to promote the industry.
In Malaysia, many planters have resorted to mechanising agricultural practices and offer better wages in the estates but the jobs are shunned by locals
KL seeks Bangladeshis to avert estate workers squeeze
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I have summarized the later part of the report. Please read the whole article yourself. Click on the link at the end.
Free Malaysia Today
A nation of foreign workers?
If BN were to win the 13th general election due to ‘instant Malaysians’, then the whole general election is a fraud.
This write-up came about due to a request from this columnist’s friends, a Malaysian couple who own and operate a foodstall near the Kota Raya area in Kuala Lumpur.
This elderly Malaysian couple requested this columnist to highlight their difficulties in dealing with the foreigners in tandem with the problem of unskilled foreigners obtaining fast-tracked citizenship, which they have termed as the “greatest Malaysian problem” which BN has failed to solve since the beginning of time.
In Sabah, a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) has been set up to look into this problem but it is too little too late.
Currently this issue of unskilled foreigners being given fast-tracked citizenship has come to our shores in the Peninsula. Of course, there are no official figures on how many have obtained this type of citizenship but for sure it is not just a few thousands.
The real figure could be too overwhelming to be revealed. By the way, the official number of foreign workers is 2.3 million. And there are also many who may have smuggled in their spouses and children.
Blogger’s Summary
1Unskilled foreigners have set up squatter colonies all over the country and the most acute problem is of course in Selangor. This terrible malaise is the brainchild of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak , who needs their votes.
2 These foreign workers tax our healthcare system and our nation’s resources.
3 Neighbours have grumbled that the presence of these foreign workers will reduce the prices of property in the neighbourhood – a common complaint of those who intend to resell their homes.
4 The police force will be unable to cope with the situation when unemployed foreigners turn to crime.
5 We are a nation of foreign workers.
6 Even if Pakatan were to win the general election, Pakatan would also find it difficult to solve this problem.
7 The area around Central Market and Kota Raya in KL during national holidays has been transformed into a foreign-worker haven. Their shops and remittance houses line the streets.
8 We must therefore let our voices be heard through the ballot box and hopefully it will not be too late.
Selena Tay is a FMT columnist.
A nation of foreign workers?
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