IN its manifesto, the new government had lofty goals to improve the lot of Malaysian workers and to solve the problem of undocumented foreign labourers.

But it risks falling short of these targets by focusing too much on its crackdown of undocumented labourers, said local migrant rights group, North-South Initiative (NSI).  

This is because the campaign against undocumented foreigners is a backward solution to the problem and fails tackle its root causes, said NSI executive director Adrian Pereira.

One root cause is Malaysia’s labour supply needs, which have not been studied accurately and transparently by the previous Barisan Nasional administration to gauge the actual number of foreigners needed. 

The second is the billion-ringgit foreign labour supplier industry fostered by corrupt officials and those allegedly tied to BN politicians that exploit migrants.

The third is the lack of social and welfare protection for all workers, Malaysian and foreign, which creates room for exploitation.

“The government needs to come up first with accurate numbers of the economy’s manpower needs and whether those needs can be satisfied by locals and what can be filled by foreigners,” said Pereira.

Without an accurate picture, the Pakatan Harapan administration risks repeating the same mistakes if it just continues with the ongoing crackdown.

“If you continue detaining and sending workers back, then several months from now, employers complain there are not enough workers,” Pereira told The Malaysian Insight.  

“Then what do you do? You begin another rehiring process of foreigners that perpetuates the problems. The ongoing raids do not have moral and economic basis. It should be the last option to tackle the issue.”  

Industry dependence

As part of its election manifesto, the PH government said it would gradually reduce the foreign worker population as part of an overall strategy to empower Malaysian workers and create one million quality jobs.

It is continuing a zero-tolerance crackdown on undocumented foreigners started by BN in January. Until July 7, more than 22,000 have been arrested for a variety of offences. Also detained were 585 employers.

But rights groups and politicians have criticised the harsh manner of raids where even workers with documentation have been “chained up and marked like animals”.  

According to a 2017 study that involved NSI, there are an estimated six million migrant workers in the country but only 32% or 1.9 million have legal documents.

Although the rest do not have proper work papers, they “contribute significantly to the economy”, the study said.

“Crucial industries have become so heavily dependent on undocumented migrants that without them, these industries will collapse,” said the study by Migrant Workers Right to Redress Coalition.

The coalition includes NSI, Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC), Parti Sosialis Malaysia, Tenaganita, Penang Stop Human Trafficking Campaign and Persatuan Sahabat Wanita Selangor.   

The plantation and agriculture sector is one of those which is wholly dependent on foreign labour, said National Small holders Association president Aliasak Ambia.

“Locals don’t want these jobs, especially in oil palm estates,” said Aliasak.

Small-scale estates, food businesses and contractors are the types of micro-enterprises that are primary employers of undocumented foreigners, said the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF).

Micro-enterprises employ fewer than 10 workers but make up 73% of all small and medium enterprises (SMES) in the country.

Malaysians will do 3D 

The problem is not really the jobs themselves but the conditions under which workers are willing to work, said Pereira.

“The common myth is that Malaysians don’t want to work in dangerous, difficult and dirty jobs. But the reality is that they are willing to go to the UK, Australia, Korea and Singapore to do these jobs there.”

The difference is that the pay and conditions which Malaysians accept in those countries are better than the ones at home.

“Malaysian businesses tend to enslave workers, pay them less and make them work up to 16 hours. Locals won’t do it, but undocumented migrants will,” he said.

As long as the government does not enforce labour laws on all businesses, particularly SMEs and micro-enterprises, locals have no incentive to fill these jobs and the demand for migrants remains.

That demand is then supplied by private labour agents who make tidy profits from government contracts to bring in foreigners.  

Some agents work in cahoots with corrupt border officials that allow foreigners to come in and work illegally, he said.

“Often foreigners are deceived into thinking they can come to Malaysia on a social visit passes and apply for working papers once they reach here.

“But you only see action against the foreigner who is a victim, while the labour agents go scot-free. The government is dealing with the symptom, not the problem.”

When politicians and their labour agent cronies have an interest in making money from foreign workers, there is little incentive in crafting a policy to reduce their numbers, he said.

Foreign worker recruitment must be handled only by the Human Resources Ministry which uses the system to fill the exact manpower needs of the country’s economy.

“You need to create the right working environment that treats Malaysians and foreigners equally first. Then there is incentive for locals to fill jobs,” Pereira said.

Labour needs that cannot be filled can then be met with properly documented foreigners by the government, he said, adding there should be no more private labour suppliers.

“Only then can we start thinking about raids.” – July 23, 2018.