Monday 29 March 2010

Migrant workers 'raped, abused, unpaid' in Malaysia


KUALA LUMPUR, March 24, 2010 (AFP) - Amnesty International on Wednesday urged Malaysia to end appalling treatment of migrant workers, saying many were raped, abused and unpaid and endured conditions "close to bonded labour".
(Raped. To which nationalities would this be targetted at; the Indonesians, the Filipinos or Burmese. Very few from Vietnam, and moreover they prostitutes themselves in the neighbourhood, by targeting the Banglas and their own countrymen.
If the writer indicated rape; how many percent would that be, of course unless, they, the workers lodged false report so they could be set free and go roaming the country working elsewhere. Abused; agree. We do have reports about this but how many percent compare to the tons of them coming to the Peninsular seeking 'luxury' their own country can't offer them?
And, lets be realistic, abuse and rape ~ it happens a lot more in the Gulf countries than in Malaysia.)

In a damning report, the human rights group accused the Malaysian government of "facilitating" human trafficking after it found cases of immigration officials delivering Myanmar detainees to gangs on the Thai border.
(Okay. This human trafficking thing is undeniable. Since it is easy to bribe the enforcement and top Ministry people who are so cheap and can be bought with meagre amount of cash and vacations ~ it is coming to a grave point already. With all the black from African continent coming as students, Chinese as prostitutes, Myanmar as roadside and stalls beggars, Indon as general workers and par time as robbers and rapers, and Vietnamese as general workers but laced with social ills Vietcong principles and among of the rudest people equivalent to the black....wow...there are just too much to mention too!!)

Malaysia is one of Asia's largest importers of labour, with a workforce of 2.2 million, but Amnesty said they were too often "lured" to Malaysia and "used in forced labour or exploited in other ways".
('used in forced labour' ~ i wonder was that means. If the writer would be kind enough to elaborate. And 'exploited in other ways' ~ does it mean that the women (especially the Filipinos women prostituting themselves in Beach Club , the Chinese at massage and spa parlour and other including Indonesians small time prostitutes along Kuala Lumpur's back lanes)

"Migrants, many from Bangladesh, Indonesia and Nepal, are forced to work in hazardous situations, often against their will, and toil for 12 hours a day or more," the group said in a statement.

"Many are subject to verbal, physical and sexual abuse," it added.
(Because honestly; some of them a a total wreck and stupid and cant understand simple instruction, especially those women from the island of Indonesia who'd flock in Malaysia, and who had never even seen electricity in their whole entire life before and even some who pretended to not knowing anything except certain things in one malicious way to 'get away' with doing extra things around.
As for sexual abuse; i really doubt it. Prostitutes are everywhere in Malaysia, and young ladies are easily duped for cheap sex, why do men need to hump them, NOT unless, they who'd been left 'dry' for quite sometimes and longing for men touch. Need me elaborate? There are 8 out of 10 stories of women, in this case Indon who'd make move in luring men of the house to having sex with them. This however, not inclusive of the charm and voodoo thing they have going under their sleeves )

Amnesty said most workers borrowed substantial sums to pay recruitment agents to secure a job -- only to discover too late that they had been given empty promises and could not afford to return home.
(This is scrupulous agents both at their end and the one here. Too bad they had to endure all those predicament but what can you expect when you're just wanting to search for better life than their country can offer.)

"Some are in situations close to bonded labour," it said, adding that laws allowing employers to hold workers' passports prevented them from leaving abusive workplaces for fear of arrest.

"Coercive practices such as these are indicators of forced labour," it said.

Amnesty said its findings were based on interviews with more than 200 migrant workers, many of whom told horrifying stories of being abused, beaten, threatened with death, or at the least unpaid for long stretches.
(I would suggest all human rights bodies to go do surveys and interviews of all migrant workers around the world and put up the result for publishing. I dare to say that there would be more than half will say nasty things about the place or country that they're earning their income from. No one would be happy with a lot of things. It is human. The only people that will be happy working abroad are those of high paying expats)

A 26-year-old domestic helper from Indonesia said she was raped twice and attacked with a hot iron by her employer after being accused of not picking up the phone quickly enough.
(Perhaps another Nirmala Bonet story? )
"I didn't know why he told me to turn on the iron. He shouted, 'Is that iron hot?' And then tried to iron me. Push the iron toward my body," the unidentified worker was quoted as saying.

Another worker, Mawar, who was only 15 when she came to Malaysia, said her recruitment agent burned her nipple with a cigarette, and forced her to clean the floor with her tongue "just like a dog".
(This agent is Malaysian? or their own people, because I heard lot of similar stories and turn out the agent are of their own countrymen)

"Another time the agent forced me to eat five cockroaches while they were still alive. She also forced me to drink urine from other workers," said Mawar, whose nationality was not given.

Amnesty also documented over a dozen cases in which Malaysian immigration officials allegedly handed over Myanmar detainees to traffickers operating on Malaysia's northern border with Thailand between 2006 and 2009.

"The Malaysian government has the responsibility to prevent such abuses, but instead facilitates trafficking through its loose regulation of recruitment agents and through laws and policies that fail to protect workers," it said.

An official from the home ministry, which oversees the immigration department, said it would not respond to the allegations until it had an opportunity to study the report.
(Of course. It is indeed talking to deaf ears when trying to justify matters to people such as all this human rights group, which set up was done to find faults with other peoples' country and sovereignty as though they are better people than other people)

Amnesty said that workers often face indiscriminate raids from authorities and demands for bribes from police, and that those who cannot pay end up in detention centres in deplorable conditions.

The government said last year it was mulling new laws to enshrine conditions for foreign workers, after persistent complaints that they lack protection.

"Until Malaysia's labour laws offer effective protection and are effectively enforced, exploitation will continue," said Michael Bochenek, Amnesty's policy director who authored the report.
(So, is he a Jewish with his all-Jewish thing in stirring up other peoples' homeland?)

Again, as a Malaysian, i would state the below as to how I feels about foreign workers;

1. I hate them.

2.Pay more and to trustworthy agents to get 'good and capable' workers especially maids.

3. They're rude. Especially the Vietnamese. The Bangla came second. The Indons can't say much cause they behave like Malaysia is their own country. The African although not as general workers but more to committing vices are the worst of all.

4. Hate to see them roaming around places and are very rude to the local.

5. They pose hazardous influence to the nice moderate culture in Malaysia.

6. They pose threat as they are those who kill and rob people. Many cases and known fact.

Endless.....And again, how not to have them around when the local are too lazy to work as general workers and at petrol stations, and they are paid much less in factory compared to local people where the employer need to cover all expenses from EPF contributions to health insurances.

It's a no win situation after all.
And, writing bad news about Malaysia is not news at all.


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