FOREIGN workers prohibited from working at the Selayang wholesale market have resorted to opening up illegal stalls, stealing vegetables and robbing others to earn a living, said local traders.

The traders are now worried about a second wave of Covid-19 infections resulting from these activities and want the government to address the matter immediately, adding that these migrants can be employed in other sectors.

The government stopped migrants from working at the wholesale market after they were identified as the source of Covid-19 infections in the area. This resulted in the surrounding areas put under the enforced movement-control order (EMCO) in March and April.

There were also calls to rid of undocumented foreigners from the area. The government then decided to allow only locals to work in the market and for illegal migrants to be rounded up and deported.

Hoi Seong Fish Wholesalers Association chairman Sing Kian Hock told The Malaysian Insight the migrant workers have nowhere else to go after losing their jobs at the market.

“I didn’t think issues would start cropping up so quickly. When the wholesale market was reopened (on April 24), there were already vegetable thefts.

“They don’t steal the fish because fish are not openly displayed at stalls, but the vegetables are,” Sing said.

The Selayang old market, near the wholesale market, was also been burgled recently, he said.

Malaysian Federation of Vegetable Sellers Association president Chong Tek Keong said traders are still getting calls from former migrant employees, asking if they are hiring.

“The Selayang wholesale market has no migrant workers now but they are still in the surrounding areas, hoping to find jobs again.

“Sometimes we’ll get calls asking ‘Boss, can you hire me again?’,” Chong said.

Some traders are helping financially their former employees, some of whom have worked with them for many years.

Chong said, to his knowledge, there are about 6,000 foreigners in areas around the Selayang wholesale market, including former workers, refugees and their families.

He has also advised his former workers to try looking for work in other states and in other sectors.

Many traders also could not bring themselves to stand by and do nothing for labourers who have worked for them for years and have forked out their own money to assist them, he said.

Chong said this, however, can’t be a long-term solution.

Many foreigners and refugees in the surrounding areas have not been able to pay rent for several months since the MCO was enforced on March 18.

Chong urged the government to arrange new jobs in other sectors for foreign labourers and refugees who have lost their livelihood.

Kuala Lumpur Fruits Wholesalers Association president Chin Nyuk Moy said migrant workers are now desperate after losing their jobs during the MCO, with no income and nowhere to go.

“I thought it would be the end of it once they’ve left the market, but they didn’t leave and are still loitering around,” Chin said.

Locals can’t hack it

Sing of the fish wholesalers’ association recommends hiring locals but many give up after a few days and only about 20% of those hired still remain in the job.

The work is arduous in the seafood sector, as it involves lugging huge barrels of fish loaded with ice, often weighing up to 200kg, humidity and cold working conditions, the risk of infection when pierced by fish fins and long hours.

Not many locals are willing to endure such conditions, he said.

While foreign workers are typically paid RM70 to RM80 per day, Sing said, seafood wholesalers hire locals at a rate of RM100 to RM110 per day.

“If locals apply, we’ll hire but quite often, they’ll be gone the next day.”

Because of the high turnover rate, Sing said, many traders turn to their friends, relatives and children to help out while schools remain closed.

However, the workforce at the market is only about 50% of its pre-MCO levels.

“A stall here would usually hire about four people, now there are only two,” Sing said.

Traders are also avoiding stocking up too much as most of their workers are new.

“After we trained them, they quit, and then we have to train new people. So, work has been slow.”

He previously proposed legalising the migrant workers in the area but received backlash from social-media users. Sing said the detractors do not understand the seafood sector’s operational methods or its hiring processes.

He added that some of the new hires at the wholesale market are only working there as they have lost their jobs, and once the economy recovers, they’re likely to return to their old profession or find an easier job.

Some new employees have complained that their wages are not enough for medical expenses, especially if they injure themselves on the job and the wounds become infected, while traders can’t do much else to help.

He suggested that the government allow traders to identify foreign labourers for legalisation after a few months.

Sing said even with migrant workers, traders still have to foot thousands of ringgit in labour costs a year.

“For example, the legalisation process can last until December 31, and after that, you can raid the market for illegal workers every day, no problem.” – June 13, 2020.