Last December, 171 Bangladeshis paraded for 10 kilometers to a police station in Kota Tinggi, Johor, to lodge a report, triggering tremendous concern among Malaysians,

These foreigners claimed that they were not given any job promised by their agents after entering the country legally for three to six months.

Members of the public felt uneasy with such a large crowd of foreigners walking in the street. They reported to the police. The police subsequently arrived to arrest these foreigners and referred them to the immigration department for further actions.

The incident appeared to have come to a close, but it has highlighted something much more serious in this country.

Why have these foreigners waited for months without jobs after arriving in this country? Has something gone wrong somewhere? Is the element of scamming involved?

We cannot afford to sit on this question and do nothing!

First of all, from the humanitarian and responsibility perspectives, we must not allow these foreigners to be scammed and exploited.

These foreigners have traveled thousands of miles to Malaysia to work in hope of making a little more money so that their families back home can have a better living.

They have tried very hard to raise the money to pay for the exorbitant processing fees in order to fly into Malaysia. Unfortunately, after they have arrived here, they have to keep waiting and there are no jobs available for them.

The Kota Tinggi incident is by no means an isolated case. Lately, a batch of migrant workers also complained that they each had to borrow RM20,000 from loan sharks to pay the excessive agency fees to come to Malaysia. However, they have not been assigned any job months after arriving here. Many have to starve because they have no job and no money.

Migrant workers also have their rights, and these rights have to be respected and protected!

Additionally, similar incidents will tarnish the country’s international image, and will likely erode the faith of foreigners seeking a job here.

No doubt, many economic sectors here need the help of foreign workers who fill the many vacancies in the job market and help lift industrial productivity.

If we allow such incidents to keep repeating, our international image will be severely impacted. And if these workers stay away from Malaysia, our economy will be adversely affected.

Meanwhile, we have never been able to improve our standing in the Trafficking in Persons Report published annually by the US State Department.

To be a country that upholds human rights, we will need to start with how we treat our migrant workers!

Minister of Plantation and Commodities Johari Abdul Ghani has pointed out that approximately 420,000 hectares of rubber plantations across the country could not be harvested because of labor shortage, causing the operators billions of ringgit in economic losses. It has been estimated that we need to bring in additional 80,000 foreign workers to tackle this problem.

We can imagine that if these workers do not come to Malaysia, the country will suffer tremendous economic losses.

The issue of migrant workers not given any job after months arriving in this country ought to be given serious attention.

Minister Johari has proposed to slap a fine of RM30,000 on irresponsible companies for each foreign worker not given any job after arriving here for over a month.

Why are the agents unable to provide jobs to the workers after bringing them here? It is imperative that the authorities ensure the hiring companies really have jobs or vacancies for the migrant workers before bringing them to Malaysia.

Johari revealed that some companies might have wanted more foreign worker quotas without having any job for these workers, so that they can make a profit by selling the quotas to other companies. Such a move is not only immoral but will also disrupt the supply-demand equation of the labor market.

We need to more comprehensively review the entire hiring system and plug any loophole present.

The hiring of foreign workers should be jointly managed by the home affairs and human resources ministries. However, given the complexity and possible overlapping of duties affecting the efficiency of operation, foreign worker affairs should be handled by a single department, and we believe this will more effectively manage the hiring of foreign workers in a more comprehensive, fair and transparent manner.

In short, the whole hiring system needs to be improved and optimized so that companies can bring in foreign workers in accordance with their needs to fill the vacancies in the job market.

This is going to be a win-win situation for all parties: the workers need the jobs to provide a better living for their families; companies need the workforce to enhance their productivity and profitability; while the country needs a booming market to ensure prosperity.

A sound, transparent and effective hiring policy will make all parties the winners. Where this is concerned, no exploitation should be tolerated.

To be a country that upholds human rights, we will need to start with how we treat our migrant workers!