Local women organization slammed crackdown in Malaysia

15 August 2013 – KUALA LUMPUR: A local woman organization well known for spearheading migrant workers’ welfare slammed government proposal to launch a major crackdown on undocumented foreigners working  in various sectors in Malaysia.

Tenaganita Chief, Irene Fernandez, said the crackdown as announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs is irrelevant because the government had recently finished the documentation and ‘whitening’ of undocumented foreign workers through the 6P Program.

“Government had collected information through the 6P Program. Why not they use the information to determine the status of foreign workers?” she said in a statement as quoted by China Press.

It was reported that the Ministry of Home Affairs through various enforcement agencies is going to launch another major crackdown on undocumented foreign workers after the nationwide Aidilfitri celebration, which commemorates the end of fasting month for Muslim.

Fernandez said some foreign workers spent up to RM 4,000 to get registered in the 6P ‘whitening’ program but yet they failed to receive any documents that enable them to work legally in Malaysia.

“The problem is that there are different policies from different agencies. Agent selected by Home Affairs Ministry has not done their duty, and yet no actions were taken against them.”

“Home Ministry also never informed us of total money collected and spent under the 6P Program,” she said.

Out of an estimated over 400,000 Burmese migrant workers in Malaysia, about 40,000 are illegal and about 90,000 are in the process of applying for refugee status, according to the Burmese embassy.#