Latest news with #AseanParliamentarians
South China Morning Post
24-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
UN ruling offers lifeline to climate-threatened communities
A landmark ruling by the United Nations ' top court has found that governments, and by extension corporations, could be in breach of international law if they fail to take adequate action on climate change. Legal experts say the decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is likely to accelerate climate litigation, bolster demands for reparations from vulnerable nations and shape future lawsuits against both states and fossil fuel producers. In its first advisory opinion on the climate crisis, issued on Wednesday, the court said that countries had a legal duty to prevent environmental harm, protect their populations from climate risks and ensure access to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, which it recognised as a human right. 'Failure of a state to take appropriate action to protect the climate system … may constitute an internationally wrongful act,' Judge Yuji Isawa said during the hearing. He called the climate crisis 'an existential problem of planetary proportions that imperils all forms of life'. The non-binding opinion, backed unanimously by the court's 15 judges, was hailed as a turning point in international climate law. 'Though non‑binding, this ruling carries significant legal and political weight and is poised to guide courts and governments throughout our region,' said Charles Santiago, co-chair of the Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights and a former member of the Malaysian parliament.
Free Malaysia Today
04-07-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Halt ‘syndicate recruitment' of Bangladeshi workers, Santiago tells govt
A Bangladeshi official said Dhaka could impose a moratorium on sending its nationals to Malaysia unless the current agreement on worker recruitment is amended. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA : Former Klang MP Charles Santiago has called on Malaysia to heed Bangladesh's call to get rid of the 'syndicate' system used to recruit Bangladeshi migrant workers. Asif Nazrul, an adviser to Bangladesh's expatriates' welfare and overseas employment ministry, said yesterday that Dhaka could impose a moratorium on sending its nationals to Malaysia unless the current agreement on worker recruitment is amended. Santiago, the co-chair of Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights, said Bangladeshi workers are forced to pay between RM20,000 and RM30,000 to secure jobs in Malaysia, forcing them into debt before they even set foot in the country. He said recruitment syndicates are able to charge such high fees as the current 'toothless' memorandum of understanding on the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers does not provide for any fines or licence revocations. 'What we need is a binding bilateral labour agreement. Without one, syndicates will keep trafficking workers, industries will keep bleeding cash, and Malaysia will keep facing global disgrace. 'There is no recourse for workers who are forced into slavery like conditions. A binding pact means real penalties, transparency, and zero costs for workers. 'The government owes it to workers, employers, and the public to show real leadership and fix a fundamentally flawed system that breeds corruption,' he said in a statement. In 2021, Malaysia and Bangladesh signed an MoU on the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers, which is effective until December 2026. The agreement stipulates that a list of recruiting agencies be provided for Malaysia to select from. In a report in Bangladesh's The Daily Star yesterday, Asif said the agreement, which was signed by Bangladesh's previous government, should be amended as it allowed a syndicate of recruiting agencies to operate. 'Now that we've taken over, everyone is saying the syndicate system must be abolished,' he was quoted as saying, referring to the interim government under Muhammad Yunus. 'If they refuse, we have two options – follow their terms and send workers through 25, 50 or 100 agencies, or stop sending workers altogether.' He also said Malaysia is expected to recruit 30,000 to 40,000 workers from Bangladesh over the next year.
