A group of Chinese fortune hunters came to Malaysia to realize
their dreams. Not earning a penny, they were accused of overdue
stay in Malaysia. Now the 108 Chinese workers, including 15 women,
sleep in the street and do not have enough food to eat while
waiting for their exit visas to go home.
These workers are from Guangdong, Fujian, Heilongjiang, Tianjin,
Shandong and Jiangsu. Before they went to Malaysia, they all signed
contracts with so-called labor-export service agents.
Swallow the lies of labor agencies
All these victims were told by their labor-export agencies that
their daily income in Malaysia would reach 500-600 yuan (US$60-72).
If they work harder, they would earn even more because Malaysia is
a heaven for laborers. After swallowing the lies of these agencies,
the fortune hunters paid an agent fee of 30,000-40,000 yuan
(US$3,622-4,829) before they came to Malaysia, believing they were
on the way to a bright future.
Only after they entered Malaysia, did they find what they saw
was totally different from what they had been told. Many workers
earned nothing after several months' hard working at the workplaces
arranged by the labor agencies. Even worse, they found that even
their work permits were fake.
Xiao Fang, 35, a native of Guangdong, has been in Malaysia for
several months. He said his income was not stable; sometimes he got
a little sum of money, sometimes nothing. He tried to change the
situation but there was little he could do because he could not
find another job with his false permit. "Our living condition was
very bad. Sometimes the boss only provides us two meals a day."
The Chinese workers' legal rights couldn't be protected by
Malaysian laws because of their unlawful work permits. Like many of
his Chinese fellow-workers, Xiao Fang escaped from the construction
site where he was sent to work. They wanted to go home, so they
came to the Embassy of the People's Republic of China to Malaysia
to seek help. However, without a penny, they had to sleep in the
street while waiting for their exit visas. They live in the
alleyway outside the Bank of China building which is located in
Anbang Road, Kuala Lumpur, sleeping on plastic sheets or straw
mats. Policemen were sent there to keep order for there has
gathered a big group of such Chinese workers.
The labor market in Malaysia not opened
Currently, most of the Chinese citizens who come to Malaysia for
jobs enter the county with tourist or business visas. They paid
agent fees before they left China, but cannot find any job in
Malaysia. In April this year, 61 Chinese workers, most of whom were
builders from Taizhou and Lianyungang in Jiangsu Province, were
sent back to China by the Malaysian authorities due to this
reason.
The Chinese Embassy to Malaysia and the Ministry of Commerce
have warned Chinese citizens repeatedly that the labor market of
Malaysia is not yet open to China. Besides the bilateral
cooperation projects which are confirmed by both Malaysian and
Chinese governments, other labor-related behaviors are all illegal,
no matter what kind of visa one is holding. Furthermore, Malaysia
has revised its migration law. The punishments to illegal foreign
laborers are stricter than before.
According to the Migration Law of Malaysia, overdue stay and
illegal foreign laborers shall be punished with forfeit, custody or
being caned.
?
Cooperation needed to crack down on illegal labor
agencies
Wang Chungui, Chinese ambassador to Malaysia, said on May 12
that cooperation between the two countries is needed to crack down
on illegal labor agencies and to regulate the labor export and
import affairs.
Earlier this year, during their visit to China, officials from
the Ministry of Human Resources of Malaysia said that Malaysia
would like to hire skilled workers with working experience of over
five years from China. Before these workers set for Malaysia, they
should attend training courses to learn about the culture and
custom of Malaysia. Officials from Malaysia also hoped that China
could appoint 20 legal labor agencies to handle related
affairs.
Ambassador Wang Chungui said that cooperation in labor export
between China and Malaysia is under negotiation, and an agreement
is expected to be signed in later May during Malaysian Prime
Minister Abdullah Badawi's visit to China.
(China.org.cn by Wu Nanlan, May 20, 2004)