NST Leader: Foreign labour pangs

New Straits Times

09-06-2025

Trafficking foreign workers into Malaysia is becoming a big business. Errant employers and corrupt officers in cahoots with multinational syndicates are profiting at the expense of foreign workers. Most, if not all, of these foreign workers are duped into coming here.
On June 2, a record 279 foreigners — 240 Bangladeshis, 33 Pakistanis and six Indians — were turned back at Kuala Lumpur International Airport by the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (MBCA) for failing to meet immigration requirements. And here is the worry: according to the agency's acting director-general Datuk Sazali Mohamad, the case may be just the tip of the iceberg.
So what we see is not what we get. Between June 2023 and May last year, 25,568 foreign workers were issued Not-To-Land Orders (NTLs), he told the New Straits Times.
How many slipped through MBCA's net remains a mystery. Clearly, Malaysia wants to curb human trafficking, but issuing NTLs and adopting stricter border controls alone won't solve the problem.
There is no denying that there are many factors behind the thriving illegal business. But the driving factor is the demand for cheap foreign labour by miscreant employers who work with syndicates at home and abroad. It is here that the authorities must begin. Blacklisting rogue employers would be a good start.
Next is government-to-government collaboration between Malaysia and source countries, without which it would be impossible to root out trafficking of foreign workers. Neither Malaysia nor sending countries can deny that syndicates are at work in both places.
Such collaboration must involve each taking responsibility to stamp out such syndicates, including weeding out corrupt enforcement officers. This must be followed by bilateral agreements.
The Philippines-Malaysia memorandum of understanding for domestic workers offers a strong model, clearly outlining minimum wages and employer responsibilities.
Our industry players must not outsource such responsibilities to third parties, a major flaw that contributes to foreign workers becoming undocumented workers in Malaysia.
Equally important is to seriously think about our excessive dependence on foreign labour. For sure, demand for foreign workers isn't going to go away by decree.
We have become too reliant on them to say that by this or that year we will reduce our intake. Here is why.
The Human Resources Ministry last year said there were 2.3 million foreign workers in various sectors such as manufacturing (730,999), construction (646,508), services (394,739), plantation (263,151), agriculture (171,103), domestic work (100,675) and mining and quarrying (571), making up 14.6 per cent of Malaysia's total workforce.
With this level of dependence, it isn't easy to reduce our reliance on foreign labour in a few years. Perhaps, what is needed is for policymakers and industry players to plan together for a phased reduction of foreign workers.
To compel businesses to hurry with automation would meet with strong resistance. Because automation isn't cheap for many businesses in Malaysia.
Large plantations, for example, can afford automation, but smallholders may need incentives such as tax relief. If we can shower such benefits on foreign investors, there isn't a reason why we can't do the same for local businesses.