FOR decades Asia’s poor have been bought and sold by receiving and sending countries, respectively, under the label of economic benefits, social well-being and even that once mooted mantra of “prosper thy neighbour”.

Millions of Asians are hired as cheap labour to meet developing countries’ seeming shortage of manpower in manufacturing, plantations and the service sectors.

Millions more languish under the exploiting circumstances given their illegal, undocumented conditions.

The current case in a Hong Kong Court where an Indonesian maid is seeking justice for sexual abuse or harassment highlights a significant truth that all Asian governments must account for.

In her alleged claims, the maid stated that she could not afford to lose her job because she has a family to support in Indonesia and debts to repay to her employment agency.

The question is why are the poor in search of economic opportunities through their hard work paying employment agencies?

It is a known fact that agencies in sending and receiving countries collect exorbitant fees for securing legal employment status as migrant workers.

What would only cost the worker a tiny fraction of the cost to cover the administrative and paper work is instead forced to part with almost one to two months of low wages to get to a receiving country and one to two months’ wage annually to keep renewing the work permits.

Indeed, why are the governments in these sending countries not willing to see the service to provide gainful employment as an obligation on the part of democratic governments to their citizens?

Why are private agencies instead being given approval or seemingly unknown legitimacy to recruit and process work and travel permits at a huge cost?

Do the sending governments not enjoy the financial repatriation from the workers that amounts to millions of dollars annually?

And why are receiving governments most unwilling to axe the importing agents and instead deal directly on a G2G (government to government) basis to rescue the migrant workers from being exploited by approving/importing/exporting agents?

In this age of the fast advancing 21st century where third world Asian countries are rushing to become a part of the developed community of advanced nations, it is a shame that Asian governments continue to let the human slavery continue with impunity and lip service to all the clamouring calls by world communities like the UN.

Perhaps the developed world that benefits from the produce of and trade with these Asian countries should be honourable enough to impose moratoriums on or abort trade ties with these unethical Asian countries. – April 25, 2019

* J. D. Lovrenciear reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.