FERNANDEZ: How were they lured?

KUALA LUMPUR: Non-governmental organisations Tenaganita and Malaysian Employers Federation  MEF) are hoping that the government will not only focus on the 40,000 Indian citizens "missing" after their tourist visas-on-arrival expired, but also on the agents who brought them into the country.

Tenaganita director Dr Irene Fernandez told The Malay Mail: "Most of the illegal workers who come from India usually go through an agent and these workers are often given misleading information.

"For example, most of them are told they would be getting high salaries. As such, they don't mind risking their hard-earned savings to pay these agents."

She said the foreign workers were here because they were forced to by their employers and left with no other choice but to overstay.

"The government must know what the factors contributing to these 'missing' Indian citizens are.

"Also, many of these Indian workers are promised jobs by their agents. But when they get here, there are no jobs available."

Based on Tenaganita's experience, she said, most of the Indian nationals end up in the plantation industry, working at restaurants or becoming odd-job labourers.

She said the authorities should obtain the errant employers' details and also note how these foreign workers were lured into the country.

MEF executive director Samsudin Baradan said the government had been too lenient with foreign workers in the past as amnesty or voluntary repatriation were frequently offered.

"If we had to carry out the amnesty regularly, it would look as if there was a problem with our overall monitoring system."

He echoed Tenaganita's views that the government should get to the core of the problem and the blame should be placed squarely on the agents.

"One agent could be responsible for about 1,000 illegal workers. If we can find the agents, then the whereabouts of these 'missing' workers can be tracked down as well."

Both NGOs agreed that a deterrent punishment should be imposed on these errant parties as what they are doing is tantamount to a human trafficking offence.

Ministry: 14 burning issues on illegals

KUALA LUMPUR: The Home Ministry has identified 14 major issues to resolve in relation to illegal workers in Malaysia.

The Cabinet Committee on Foreign Workers will present a working paper on these to its chairman, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, on Feb 22.

Home Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Mahmood Adam told The Malay Mail that the committee had met with the deputy PM yesterday morning to identify the most critical issues to be addressed.

"There are 14 issues that the committee has to flesh out as they need to be urgently resolved. Among them are the concerns about the 40,000 Indian citizens who went missing here after their tourist visas-on-arrival had expired."

As the detailed proposals have yet to be fully worked out by the committee, Mahmood declined to elaborate on the 14 issues.

Meanwhile, Bernama reported nearly one-third of prisoners nationwide are foreigners, a leading factor blamed for congestion in prisons.

It quoted Prisons Department director-general Datuk Zulkifli Omar, who said Indonesian inmates made up the highest number at 5,000. Of this, more than 50 per cent committed offences under the Immigration Act, including entering the country illegally.

According to statistics, as of last Sunday, a total of 32,130 inmates were being held at 31 prisons nationwide. Of these, 10,833 are foreigners.

The prisons have a capacity to accommodate 36,740 inmates. Zulkifli said the Prisons Department is restructuring its placement structure to solve the problem.

Earlier, Immigration Department director-general Datuk Abdul Rahman Othman had said that illegal foreign workers, including those who went “missing” after their tourist visas expired, would not be legalised or given amnesty, and those who overstayed would have to go through the process of law.

Abdul Rahman had also warned errant employers harbouring or employing foreign workers illegally that they could be charged under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, which carried a heavier sentence than the Immigration Act.

It is estimated there are about 1.8 million registered foreign workers in the country, and the department suspects there could be an equal number of illegals.

Some quarters, the latest being MIC Youth chief T. Mohan, had called on the government to legalise illegal foreign workers in the country.