Latest news with #Tenaganita
Malaysian Reserve
6 days ago
- General
- Malaysian Reserve
NGO calls for deeper probe into trafficking networks behind KLIA detainee case
By GLORIA HARRY BEATTY HUMAN rights non-profit organisation Tenaganita is urging authorities to go beyond border enforcement and investigate trafficking networks behind the arrival of 279 foreign nationals who were denied entry by the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) division of the Border Control Agency (AKPS) on June 2. According to a recent statement by AKPS, this is the highest single-day record of Not-To-Land (NTL) cases since the KLIA Monitoring Team was established in 2023. The removal is part of AKPS's ongoing efforts to tighten border security. All individuals involved were ordered to return to their countries of origin immediately following documentation and further screening by its officers. Tenaganita ED Glorene Amala Das welcomed immigration authorities' use of intelligence tools to scrutinise travellers at the point of entry but warned that enforcement alone is not enough. 'It is encouraging to note that immigration authorities are using intelligence and available systems to assess incoming individuals against proper entry requirements, rather than allowing entry without sufficient scrutiny. 'However, while enforcement at the point of entry is important, it is equally critical to investigate and identify the networks facilitating these movements. We must ask: Who arranged for them to come? What agencies or individuals were involved on both ends, particularly in Malaysia?' she told the Malaysian Reserve. Glorene pointed out that these arrivals do not happen in isolation and are often Malaysian-based recruiters, agents, or companies complicit in enabling their travel and planned employment here. The group's years of work with migrant workers and trafficking victims reveal a pattern of deception by recruitment agents and companies operating in Malaysia and abroad. 'At Tenaganita, we have worked with many migrant workers and victims of trafficking who were deceived by false recruitment promises. Some sold their family lands or took on huge debts with the hope of decent work in Malaysia, only to find themselves exploited, undocumented, and abandoned. 'We hope that thorough investigations are underway to expose and hold accountable those who facilitated this attempt to enter Malaysia under dubious pretenses. Many of the individuals may have been victims of deception and coercion,' she cautioned. Glorene also urged that those detained be allowed to return home safely and share their experiences to raise awareness in their communities to prevent further exploitation. As the group continues its efforts to protect the rights of migrant workers and victims of trafficking, it believes accountability and systemic reform must go hand in hand with enforcement.
Free Malaysia Today
16-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Reform system before getting more Bangladeshi workers, says rights group
Tenaganita executive director Glorene Das said many migrant workers were promised jobs that never materialised. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA : Human rights group Tenaganita has voiced objections to plans for recruiting up to 1.2 million workers from Bangladesh. The group said a fresh intake without addressing systemic failures would only worsen an ongoing humanitarian crisis. The group's executive director, Glorene Das, called for a public moratorium on further recruitment and a complete structural overhaul of the system before any new intake is allowed. Her comments follow reports on the recruitment of nearly 8,000 Bangladeshi workers stranded after missing a May 2023 deadline for foreign worker intake. The resumption of recruitment follows talks between Malaysian and Bangladeshi officials in Putrajaya on Thursday. However, Bangladeshi media reported that Malaysia is expected to recruit up to 1.2 million workers over six years under a new system. In a statement today, Tenaganita demanded full disclosure of the new Malaysia-Bangladesh agreement as well as the immediate legalisation and job placement for stranded workers. 'What Malaysia needs now is not more recruitment, but a real reckoning. A reckoning with the systemic failures that have enabled widespread exploitation to persist unchecked,' Das said. She said nearly half a million migrant workers were brought into Malaysia between January 2022 and September 2024, including over 350,000 from Bangladesh, with many ending up jobless, unpaid, and stranded. 'Many were lured in by false assurances, having paid up to RM25,000 in recruitment fees, often through debt, only to find themselves jobless, unpaid, homeless, and at constant risk of arrest,' she said in a statement today. She claimed Tenaganita has identified at least 150 companies that received worker quotas despite lacking real business operations. 'These workers could not have entered Malaysia for non-existent jobs without the active involvement and approval of government agencies,' she said, adding that authorities must also take responsibility.
