Azalina Commends New HR Minister Sim For Getting On Duped Migrants Case
Pengerang MP Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said applauds Minister Steven Sim for helping the Bangladeshi workers who were allegedly duped by recruitment agents.
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Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said has applauded the new human resources minister, Steven Sim for extending his assistance with the recent case of migrant workers allegedly being duped.
The case which involved over 171 migrants, saw Sim aiding over 100 Bangladeshis who were misled into coming to Malaysia after being promised jobs by recruitment agents.
Sim, according to Star Online, instructed the Human Resources Ministry to assist the workers in acquiring jobs on humanitarian grounds, which received praise from Azalina on Twitter (X).
However, Azalina alleged there was far more work to do on this matter as this is only the tip of the iceberg.
As seen in her Twitter post, she was told that there were about 2,500 migrants who faced a similar fate in Pengerang when she reached out to Sim yesterday.
I commend Human Resources Minister YB @scheekeong on extending assistance to migrant workers who have been allegedly duped by recruitment agents promising to secure them jobs.
— Azalina Othman Said (@AzalinaOthmanS) December 26, 2023
As MP Pengerang, I had reached out to YB Steven Sim as I am told that about 2500 of these duped…
“The culprits behind this syndicate must be held accountable and immediate investigations must be carried out on who issued these permits with no jobs available.
“The responsibility and role of all companies involved should also be investigated to determine how legitimate migrant workers could be exploited and enticed with promises of work in Malaysia,” she added.
She concluded by noting how this is a crime against humanity and that the government should take firm action against these irresponsible businesses.
Workers stage protest
On Christmas, Kota Tinggi OCPD Supt Hussin Zamora confirmed that 171 Bangladeshi workers had been arrested after they had lodged a police report at the Bayu Damai police station.
The workers had lodged the report against their recruitment agent who had promised them jobs. In fact, they were legally brought here but had been unemployed for three to six months.
“The Bangladeshi nationals decided to walk to the Bayu Damai police station which was 10km from the accommodation to lodge a police report on Dec 20,” said Supt Hussin.
They unfortunately did not manage to lodge the report and instead had a report made against them on the same day.
Since then, Sim and his ministry have worked to resolve this matter by summoning the involved employers and agencies to assist them with the investigation.
“We will not hesitate to take stern action against those found guilty,” he promised, sharing that the ministry had currently frozen applications for migrant workers.
“I want to emphasise here that the recruitment of migrant workers is intended to support necessary local businesses and should not be viewed as a profit-making service.”
Aside from that, Sim will also be meeting with Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail to discuss improving the policy regarding employing migrant workers.
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