AN Indonesian woman, believed to be a victim of forced labour, was rescued in an operation in Ayer Tawar, Perak on Thursday.

According to the Human Resources Ministry, an integrated rescue operation by the labour department, the Council for Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants task force and the police was carried out following complaints and information from the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur on September 20.

The ministry said the employer is believed to have exploited the woman by threatening that she is not a legal employee and often scolded her if she wanted to return to her home country.

“The victim was physically abused… kicked in the face when she asked for the balance of her salary,” it said in a statement today.

It added that the woman entered Malaysia legally with a work permit as a maid in June 2003 through an agent she knew.

After securing the job, a sum of RM350 a month was deducted from the woman’s salary for four months as payment to the agent.

“The victim did not have any knowledge of this matter because she handed everything over to the agent and no written contract was made regarding the employment process, including payment to the agent,” the ministry said.

It said an initial investigation found that there were indicators of forced labour against the woman, whose permit expired in June last year, including unpaid salaries for three years – from 2018 to 2021 – totalling about RM25,000.

Indicators also showed that the employer has committed an offence under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007, it said.

The ministry said the woman, who is still traumatised, was placed at the Central Zone Shelter in Damansara after she was given an interim protection order by the Sri Manjung magistrate’s court on the same day she was rescued.

The order is for 21 days until October 13, to complete the investigation into the case.

“This (operation) clearly shows that the country will never compromise on the issue of forced labour, regardless of the nationality of workers involved,” the ministry said. – Bernama, September 25, 2021.