Proposal To Allow Refugees To Work Needs Further Study, Says Subramaniam

JOHOR BAHARU, (Bernama) -- The proposal to allow refugees to work needs futher study as it has the potential to give rise to new problems, said Human Resource Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam.

He said his ministry did not want Malaysia to become a magnet for refugees if the proposal was approved by the government.

Subramaniam told this to reporters after launching a job placement programme for the less fortunate and disabled people, here Thursday.

According to him, his ministry had given its views on the proposal, which had been made by several quarters recently, but till now the government had yet to make a decision on it.

Subramaniam said there were some 73,000 refugees in Malaysia presently with most of them from Myanmar and that in principle, all of them were not allowed to work.

He said refugees who come to Malaysia had to be registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and were provided documents to remain in the country for a certain period of time after which they would be sent to a third country.

Subramaniam also said his ministry was in the process of setting up 10 job centres throughout the country to help those seeking employment.

He said the number of such centres would be increased in stages and that their function was not the same as the manpower department.

-- BERNAMA

Malaysia Mulling Temporary Jobs For Refugees to Meet Labor Demand

JakartaGlobe

Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia is considering allowing refugees to work while awaiting resettlement abroad, a report said on Monday, after an industry group said the measure could help to ease a labor shortage.

Rights groups have accused Malaysia of mistreating the nearly 80,000 refugees and asylum-seekers in the country, mainly from military-ruled Burma.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told the Star newspaper the matter was being considered due to the fact that the refugees’ stay in Malaysia was only temporary.

“The suggestion might work but we need to look at it from all angles,” he said. “My ministry cannot decide on this alone. We will engage the Foreign Ministry and probably even foreign missions and other relevant authorities to get as many points of view as possible.”

Foreign Minister Anifah Aman was quoted as supporting the idea. “It will benefit the country if refugees with certain expertise are allowed to work while they are here,” he said.

The United Nations refugee agency in Malaysia said it was ready to support the initiative.

“We believe that this is in the long-term humanitarian, economic and security interest of Malaysia, and consistent with Malaysia’s own humanitarian tradition in helping those in need,” spokeswoman Yante Ismail said.

Malaysia, which has about 2.2 million migrant workers, is one of Asia’s largest importers of labor and relies heavily on foreigners for maids and to work in plantation and factories.

Several parties, including the Malaysian Trades Union Congress have called on the government to allow refugees to work, particularly in labor-strapped sectors, instead of importing more foreign workers.

Widyarka Ryananta, the councilor for information, social and cultural affairs at the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, told the Jakarta Globe on Monday that Indonesian workers eyeing jobs in Malaysia should not be concerned.

“This is still a discourse. Malaysia has always faced the problem of its young people refusing to do dirty, dangerous and difficult jobs,” Widyarka said. “And our workers can do those jobs well. I am sure we are better than the refugees,” he said, adding that Indonesian workers had more experience than the refugees, who were also from Afghanistan, Somalia and Iraq.

Widyarka said Malaysia was suffering from a shortage of workers because Indonesia’s policy was to stop sending migrant workers there.

In June 2009, the Indonesian government suspended the sending of new domestic helpers, construction workers and plantation hands to Malaysia following public outrage over the case of an Indonesian maid who was tortured for three years by her Malaysian employer.

Talks between Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur over revisions to a 2006 labor agreement broke down last year.

Iskandar Maula, director of overseas workers at Indonesia’s Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, said: “Our workers are better than the refugees. We understand their language, culture and surely the employers know us better than others.”

Iskandar said the ministry would not immediately lift the ban on sending migrant workers. He said headway needed to made in discussions with Malaysia. “We will not immediately start sending migrant workers again just because of this.”

It is estimated that there are four million Indonesian migrant workers overseas, with two million in Malaysia. Only around 1.2 million of them hold legal documents, according to the Manpower Ministry.

We should let refugees work

Daniel Chandranayagam

thesundaily

I’M sure it was not only my friends and I who applauded the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) call to the government to allow refugees to work legally in our country instead of bringing in more foreign labour from our neighbours.

The MTUC’s call comes fast on the heels of the recent announcement that 100,000 new visas were approved for foreign workers in the last three months.

"It’s definitely something good," a friend said as a friendly Myanmar worker served us drinks at the stalls. The irony was not lost on me, as I looked around our surroundings, with the many refugees trying to scrape some money by doing whatever they can, however they can. Needlessly, my friend added, "Then people like the workers here can work here legally."

Again, I’m not the only one who thinks that it is truly incredible that we are importing even more foreign workers when there seems to be a glut of them in our nation, and that we have, according to Suaram statistics, 60,000 Myanmar refugees registered with UNHCR, and thousands more are unregistered. For all we know, if all of them were registered, there would be no need to bring in the 100,000 foreign workers.

MTUC secretary-general G. Rajasekaran observed that if the government allowed refugees to work legally, we would save millions of ringgit in sustaining them. I might add that in so doing, the government would be able to monitor the refugee situation in our country, as well as control the influx of legally-brought-in foreign labour. According to reports, the latest figures from the Home Ministry reveal 1.2 million legal foreign workers with an equal number of illegal or undocumented workers in Malaysia.

Interestingly, Rajasekaran added that by allowing refugees to work, Malaysia would "also gain world recognition for being a humane country."

And this is the thing – I know Malaysians are compassionate people. Then why, according to Suaram, has the following occurred?

Between 2002 and 2008, more than 4,800 Myanmars were whipped for immigration offences; in 2008, 812 Myanmar children were detained in immigration detention centres; Myanmar refugees have difficulty finding jobs, due to their status. If they do get work, they are "usually underpaid and vulnerable to abuse from unscrupulous employers"; generations of uneducated refugees are being raised in Malaysia as they do not have access to education; and due to their unrecognised status, refugees live in fear of raids, arrest and detention.

According to Amnesty International Malaysia, Malaysia does not recognise refugees and asylum seekers, and "excludes validity of documents granted by the UNHCR that accord such people with International Protection."

However, according to Amnesty, we are formally obliged to care for refugee children, as we are signatories to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the UN Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. According to Article 22 of the CRC, the government should proactively provide assistance and protection to children of asylum seekers and refugees.
And that leaves the men. Why not give some form of protection to the husbands, fathers, grandfathers, brothers and sons of the women and children? Why not let them work? After all, we have 100,000 vacancies at the moment, as evidenced by the approval of 100,000 work visas for foreigners.
It is great news that the Home Ministry intends to issue identification cards to refugees recognised by the United Nations. Why not show the world that we are in solidarity with the sufferings of our neighbours and just go the extra mile? Let’s give them the right to work.



Daniel freelances in writing and publishing, and has a deep passion for sleeping, eating and labour law. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com

Refugees dying to work

newstraitstimes

THE refugees and asylum seekers in the country are willing to do whatever it takes to make ends meet. The Rohingyas, for example, will jump at any opportunity to be given gainful employment.

Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organisation Malaysia (MERHROM) president Zafar Ahmead says the refugees have been surviving here with great difficulty.

"The government doesn't allow us to work.

"We survive and make a living scrounging for jobs from the public. We work part-time, do odd jobs, help out at businesses and construction sites."

Zafar says that there are never any guarantees for the community's safety, with detention by police and Rela personnel a possibility at any time.

Zafar says any jobs that are opened up to them will be "of interest".

"If the government gives us these jobs, we will be very happy.

"We are not demanding for cushy jobs in air-conditioned offices. We just want the opportunity to work and make a better life for ourselves."

As of January, there are 79,300 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Malaysia.

There are 20,000 more unregistered refugees and asylum-seekers.

They may just get what they want.

The Human Resources Ministry had on Monday said that it would present to the cabinet another proposal allowing the 90,000-odd refugees in the country to work.

Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said he had put up a case to the cabinet some time ago, but no decision was taken then.

He believed that it would be a good move to employ them.

Subramaniam had said utilising refugees as a workforce while they waited to be resettled elsewhere would also prove beneficial to the country's economic well-being.

However, former Immigration Department enforcement director Datuk Ishak Mohammed begs to differ.

"We can give them work, but who will stop the other refugees from coming in?

"They will come here, saying they want to visit Malaysia and then claim refugee status and say they want to work," he says, adding that they would next settle down and demand citizenship.

Ishak says the UNHCR will not lift a finger to relocate the refugees to other countries if such a situation comes to pass.

He says giving them jobs here will not solve their problems and it is up to developed countries to help them out.

UNHCR spokesperson Yante Ismail says the organisation is pleased that Malaysia is considering allowing refugees to work.

"We believe this is in the long-term humanitarian, economic and security interest of Malaysia and consistent with Malaysia's own humanitarian tradition in helping those in need. We look forward to supporting the government of Malaysia in this initiative."

Yante adds that UNHCR in Malaysia continues to push for long-term solutions for all refugees including finding them homes in third countries and helping them return home safely.

Mechanism to monitor illegals, put ‘fear into them’

thestar
online

PETALING JAYA: The Home Ministry is devising a mechanism that would enable the authorities to monitor “each and every foreigner” from the moment they enter the country till the day they leave.

Its minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the ultimate purpose was to create an environment where foreigners without legal status would “ feel afraid and threatened and prepare to leave the country immediately.”

He said the new mechanism would entail upgrading the current database system to enable checks on the status of foreigners to be conducted anywhere and anytime.

“The number of foreigners claiming to be tourists and workers here does not tally with our records.

“The huge presence (of illegals) not only (leads to) social and security problems but also tarnishes the image of the country and makes genuine tourists feel uncomfortable,” he said after personally driving through the city during the Chinese New Year break to see for himself the situation in the federal capital.

Hishammuddin, who described the situation as “unusual and worrying,” said a majority of the foreigners were not tourists and claimed to be employed legally in the country.

“Obviously our enforcement efforts need to be further reinforced with comprehensive monitoring that can only be established with an integrated database system.

“This initial proposal (for the new mechanism) would be tabled at the Cabinet Committee on Foreign Workers and Illegal Immigrants meeting next Monday,” he said.

The committee, comprising 13 ministries, is chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Hishamuddin said the current conventional method of keeping tabs on foreigners, including conducting raids, has to be improved.

“We also need to see if laws need to be amended, as well as implementing other new measures,” he said.

Last year, the authorities carried 7,099 operations against illegals which saw 47,310 people being detained, including 26,545 cases of illegal entry and 8,655 of over-staying.

More than 50 Australian lawmakers urge Malaysia to drop Anwar sodomy case

asiaone news

SYDNEY- More than 50 Australian lawmakers have lodged a formal protest urging Malaysia to drop opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trial and warning it will hurt the country's image, an official said Friday.

The group, which includes MPs and senators from both major parties, called for the case against Anwar to be abandoned in the interests of building "confidence in the impartial rule of law in Malaysia".

"Many friendly observers of Malaysia find it difficult to believe that a leading opposition voice could be charged with sodomy a second time, and so soon after his party made major gains in national elections," the protest letter says.

"It should be made known to the Malaysian government, that in our opinion, global esteem for Malaysia will be affected by these charges against Mr. Anwar."

"We hope that Malaysia's authorities will not pursue these charges."

Michael Danby, member of the governing centre-left Labor party and chairman of Australia's foreign affairs parliamentary subcommittee, said he handed the letter to Malaysian High Commissioner Salman Bin L Ahmad in Canberra Thursday.

"A lot of people know Anwar Ibrahim, a lot of people have been to Malaysia, and a lot of Australian parliamentarians think it's a shame that this is happening for the second time to the leader of the opposition in what is a developing democracy," Danby told AFP.

"We (feel we) should stand up and support a fellow democrat."

Former opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull and Bob Brown, leader of the Greens party were among the signatories, as well as independent Senator Nick Xenophon and two minor members of the Labor Party frontbench.

Danby said the Malaysian high commissioner was well aware that there was a "wide spectrum of opinion in Australia" and the letter was not intended to inflame diplomatic relations.

"We hope it shows people in Malaysia and the opposition that we care," Danby said.

Anwar, who faces 20 years imprisonment if convicted of illicit sexual relations with a young former aide, has condemned the allegations against him as a political conspiracy to sideline the opposition.

He has accused High Court judge Mohamad Zabidin Diah of refusing to rein in "biased" media coverage of the much-delayed trial, which began last week.

Anwar was arrested in 1998 on sodomy and corruption charges but made a stunning comeback after being freed from prison in 2004.

His sexual misconduct charge was overturned after six years behind bars.

Negeri Sembilan Immigration Dept Detains 116 Foreigners

BERBAMA

SEREMBAN, Feb 14 (Bernama) -- The Negeri Sembilan Immigration Department picked-up 116 foreigners here and in Nilai on Saturday for various offences, its director Pisal Mustafa said.

Of the total, 68 were Indonesians and 13 Myanmar nationals while the rest were Indians, Cambodians, Pakistanis, Vietnamese, Nigerians and Nepalese, age between 22 and 38 years, he said.

Among the offences were overstaying and having no travel documents, he added.

They had been sent to the Lenggeng immigration depot, he said.

Thirty immigration officers were involved in the three-hour operation, codenamed "Ops Kutip", which started at 11am.

-- BERNAMA

Malaysia, UNHCR to enhance ties on refugee issues

Malaysia expects to continue cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees (UNHCR) over international refugee issues, said Malaysian foreign ministry.

The ministry said in a statement that the cooperation, on humanitarian grounds, was among the highlights of the first meeting between Foreign Minister Anifah Aman and Paul Alan Vernon, representative of UNHCR to Malaysia, on Tuesday in Putrajaya, the administrative center of Malaysia.

The meeting provided the opportunity for both sides to discuss a range of issues pertaining to refugees and asylum seekers at the international level, it said.

Both Anifah and Vernon appreciated the excellent partnership between the Malaysian government and UNHCR in tackling with international refugees problems.

Malaysia, by now, is not a state party to the 1951 Convention and its Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, said the statement.

As of January 2010, there were some 79,300 refugees and asylum- seekers registered with UNHCR in Malaysia, who came from Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan, according to UNHCR website statistics.

UNHCR estimated that there might be 20,000 more unregistered in Malaysia.

Source: Xinhua

Ministry postpones ops on bosses hiring illegal workers

thestar
online

PUTRAJAYA: The planned Feb 15 nationwide crackdown on employers harbouring illegal workers has been postponed, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.

He announced this after meeting 31 representatives from Chinese chambers of commerce and guilds yesterday.

The move, he said, would allow the Chinese New Year festivities to proceed smoothly.

The Immigration Department announced the crackdown on thousands of employers believed to be harbouring or employing illegal workers.

There are about 1.8 million legal foreign workers in the country and the department believes there are an equal number of illegals.

The department had received many requests urging that the crackdown be postponed as it was scheduled to start on the second day of Chinese New Year, when businesses would be brisk with huge profits to be made.

Asked why the postponement was set to an unspecified date, Hishammuddin said it was the ministry’s way of assessing the commitment of employers.

“We need their commitment in providing us with complete data on the number of foreign workers they hire, and also to justify the reasons for hiring foreign workers.

“From this, we can formulate solutions to overcome issues of foreign worker employment in the country and eventually reduce the number,” he said.

When met after the meeting, several chambers’ leaders lauded the move by the Government, saying it took a tremendous load off their shoulders.

Federation of Malaysia Chinese Guilds Association secretary Ng Po Kok said its members would cooperate with the Government in providing data on the foreign workers.

Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners Asso-ciation president Datuk R. Ramalingam Pillai said restaurant owners would follow the ministry’s advice to stop using foreign workers, but they would not be able to do so overnight.

On another issue, Hishamuddin announced that the national crime rate had been reduced by 20%.

Last year, it was announced that an allocation of RM3.7bil from the Budget would be used to reduce the crime index by 5% by the end of 2010.

“We are happy to announce that the target has been achieved under the National Key Result Areas.”

Feb 22 decision on Visas-On-Arrival ( VOA )

thestar
online

PUTRAJAYA: The fate of visas-on-arrival (VOA) issued to foreigners from eight nations will be decided when Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin chairs the Cabinet Committee on Foreign Workers and Illegal Immigrants meeting on Feb 22.

The meeting will decide whether the controversial VOA facility should be abolished or continued, with changes made to the process to prevent abuse. Malaysia is said to be the only country providing such visas.

It is learnt that the committee would outline more stringent measures for issuance of visas to visitors from several “identified countries” as efforts were needed to prevent foreigners from taking part in negative activities while they are here.

Visitors from these countries are expected to be carefully vetted during their visa application process. They will likely be required to produce more documents during the visa application process, rather than just return air tickets and hotel bookings, to prove they have no intention of overstaying.

Home Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Mahmood Adam told The Star that other issues pertaining to foreigners residing in Malaysia would also be discussed at length during the meeting.

“The Cabinet committee will decide on the fate of the visa-on-arrival. At this point, I cannot say if it will be abolished or if the facility will be retained because the pros and cons have not been deliberated on as yet. We need to listen to the views of all before coming to a decision.

“As for tighter visa procedures, I do not want to elaborate but suffice to say that we believe the time has come for us to do so,” he said.

It has been reported that thousands of tourists had abused the VOA – which was introduced in 2006 in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2007 – by overstaying.

The facility was extended to tourists from China, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Taiwan and Comoros.

Recently, 10 people, nine of them foreigners with links to international terrorist networks, were arrested under the Internal Security Act.

The Government had indicated that it planned to have a more systematic monitoring and screening of all foreigners who were already in the country, be it foreign workers, expatriates or students, to ensure they posed no threat to the nation’s security.

Deputy Foreign Minister A. Kohi-lan Pillay said plans to tighten visa procedures for foreigners would not cause a “backlash”, adding many countries were strict in issuing visas and yet their tourist arrivals and the number of those investing remained high.

“This is a good way to stop people with negative intentions from entering Malaysia. Those who genuinely want to experience our warmth and hospitality will continue to come, even if they have to do more to get a visa,” he said.

Kohilan said the authorities should consider placing more Immigration attaches at missions abroad, especially in problem spot areas.

Malaysia plans IDs for refugees to prevent arrest

The Jakarta Post

Malaysia plans to issue identification cards to refugees who are recognized by the United Nations, allowing them to stay in the country temporarily and avoid arrest as illegal immigrants.

Malaysia, which has declined to join the U.N. convention on refugees for fear of attracting a flood of migrants, previously has arrested refugees frequently as illegal aliens. Mostly from Myanmar, the refugees often have spent months in overcrowded detention center and faced caning and deportation.

The plans announced Monday reflect a softening of Malaysia's position toward the refugees, although it continues to refuse them official recognition.

Home Ministry Secretary General Mahmood Adam said the government would work with the U.N. refugee agency to issue the cards so immigration enfocement personnel would recognize and spare U.N.-designated refugees.

"As long as they are recognized as refugees by the U.N., they can stay here temporarily," he told The Associate Press. "They cannot work here, but they can do odd jobs."

He could not give an exact timeline but said the initiative was in the "final stage."

According to the U.N. agency, about 75,600 refugees and asylum-seekers were in Malaysia as of November. Most fled persecution in Myanmar.

Yante Ismal, a spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, welcomed the development and further discussions to form a documentation system.

"Proper documentation for refugees is essential to their protection," she said.

All of the refugees in Malaysia are waiting to be resettled to a third countr that officially accepts refugees, which grants them legal status and the right to work.

Cops from sergeants and above to benefit from pay scheme

By SARBAN SINGH

thestar online

SEREMBAN: Policemen from the rank of sergeants and above will get a rise in salary and allowances under a new pay scheme.

The new pay and incentives come three years after they were recommended by the Royal Commission to improve the police force.

The biggest gainers will be new inspectors who will get a starting salary of RM2,060 compared to RM1,492 previously. Diploma and STPM holders will also be allowed to join the force directly as sergeants and they will start with a basic salary of RM1,500. A sergeant’s basic salary previously was RM890.

The new scheme has been approved by the Public Service Department following recommendations made by the Royal Commission on the Enhancement of the Management and Operations of the Police.

Sources said new inspectors would have a take home pay of more than RM3,000 which included a special incentive of RM200, cost of living allowance of RM100 to RM200, and a housing allowance of RM420.

They said police inspectors had now been moved to the Professional and Management Group as they were now required to be degree holders.

Policemen will also have another reason to cheer as they will be paid arrears backdated to Jan 1, 2009. Other senior officers will also enjoy increases of between 4% and 8% of their current basic salary and civil service allowance.

“Senior police officers will get one jump in their salaries to the new scheme. This will be from RM200 to RM600,” he said.

The civil service allowance of officers with the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and Superintendents will be increased by RM50.

Sources said the ranks of Senior Assistant Commissioner I and II (SAC I  and SAC II ) have also been abolished and replaced with just SAC. Also abolished is the post of chief inspector.

This means that an inspector can be promoted to the rank of an ASP after passing the relevant examinations.

Citing an example, he said corporals who passed their Efficiency Level Assessment examinations were being paid higher than sergeants who did not pass theirs.

“We cannot have a situation where a lower ranking officer earns more than his superior. That is one reason why the changes were done to the matrix salary system,” he said.

In 2007, the Government increased the salaries of police and military personnel by 9% to 42%. The current increase of salary and incentives is to further enhance the operations and management of the police force.

In an immediate response, Cuepacs president Omar Osman said the Public Service Department must ensure it did not jeopardise the chances of non-officers to be promoted to officers.

“There are some 200 Customs non-officers who have not been promoted to officer level although they have recognised degrees.

“We hope the department will spell out exactly what are the chances of those in the lower rung to be promoted to the Top Professional and management Group once they get their tertiary education. Then it will be a level playing field,” he said.