Rights groups raise concerns over Malaysia’s move to clamp down on undocumented migrants

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TAKING ON DIRTY, DANGEROUS AND DEMEANING Job

According to official statistics, documented immigrant employees make up about 15 per cent of the country’s workforce. &nbsp,
 
Combined with illegal employees, their numbers could be around 5.5 million based on illegal quotes.
 
Many migrants take on unclean, dangerous, and degrading work generally shunned by citizens to support their families, because they are not allowed to work officially in Malaysia.
 
Human rights organizations claim that because Malaysia does not have a proper policy for handling immigrants, they are frequently used by those who employ them. &nbsp,
 
According to Charles Santiago, the president of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights,” for a very long time, there has been a suggestion that the huge migrant group in Malaysia may be encouraged to work, should be trained, and provided the knowledge if necessary to get a career in Malaysia itself,” the state of Malaysia and the Ministry of Home Affairs have been given a recommendation.
 
He added that this would be “very helpful,” eliminating the need for Malaysia to employ workers from nations like Nepal or Bangladesh. &nbsp,
 
” But alas, we are never tapping it and we treat them as if they are exiles. In reality, the problem that they are paid RM900 for the work they do is against Indonesian law”, said Mr Santiago. In Malaysia, the maximum pay is fixed at RM1, 500 per month.
 
He advocated for a shift in perspective in how refugees are accepted into world.

” They’re never taking our jobs”, Mr Santiago said. ” Obviously, Malaysians are not doing the ugly, difficult, dangerous work. Thus, they are doing a company to us. They should n’t be seen as a threat to society, we should n’t.

He reaffirmed that ASEAN needs to establish a philanthropic fund to assist the Myanmar migrants who are dispersed throughout Southeast Asia.

” Immigrants have now moved into industrial Bangkok, they have moved to Kuala Lumpur. These individuals have nowhere to go”, he added.

” ASEAN ( has to take ) ownership of the problem of refugees in the region”.