“I was among the people involved in the corporatisation of the system for foreign workers and I can show ways to keep tabs on even the illegal workers,” he said.
He calls them "illegal" - no human being can be illegal or irregular. The right term to use mr. MB is "undocumented" - and do you know what happens to these undocumented...RELA arrest them...detained...charged in court...WHIPPED...deported. (But somehow not much is done to the employers that have hired and used them - and one labour court also said that since they were "illegal", they are not entitled to their wages from this employer --- and interestingly no news about any action taken against this EMPLOYER too....
Khalid meanwhile said the RM4,000 in levy and agency charges migrant workers paid was too large a sum, and the state planned to call on the Federal Government to reduce the amount.
Why should the workers be made to pay these agency charges and levy - it should be the EMPLOYER. The employer, who wants to go and get migrant workers, MUST be required in law to pay all the said "agency charges", "levy", etc... NOT the workers... Any further contribution that the State requires for the usage of facilities in this country should come from these EMPLOYERS...
One thing that Khalid can do is stop the discrimination faced by migrants when it comes to access to medical care in Malaysia. Health and health care are fundamental needs to a human being --- and we should treat everyone equally here in Malaysia.
Selangor Has Administrative Power Over Migrant Worker Levy, Says MB
March 28, 2008 (Bernama)KUALA LANGAT, March 28 (Bernama) -- Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said today the state government has the "administrative authority" to impose on employers a monthly levy of RM9 for each migrant worker they employ.
He said this in response to Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam's statement yesterday that the Parti Keadilan Rakyat-DAP-PAS coalition government had no authority to amend legislation to impose the levy.
Abdul Khalid said the RM3,000 to RM4,000 charged by migrant worker agencies was high and that for the Selangor government this was not reasonable.
He said this after officiating at the closing ceremony for the basic training course for Selangor enforcement officers series 1/2008 at the Enforcement Training Centre in Jugra near here.
Abdul Khalid said the state government bore the brunt of the influx of foreign workers into Selangor as they had an impact on infrastructure facilities like health, education and roads.
"We want to show the federal government how to keep records on illegal workers by having the state levy. I will set up a centralised information system to keep correct records on those who come and work in the state," he said.
Abdul Khalid said he had experience in doing so as he was among those responsible for the computerisation of the Immigration Department at one time and that the state's efforts could help the federal government resolve problems it faced.
He said the federal government perhaps had difficulty accepting ideas from political parties other than those of the Barisan Nasional (BN) but (the federal government) must listen to the people's wishes channelled through other parties.
"If they can come up with a better idea, they should do so," Abdul Khalid said.
He said millions of ringgit were paid by foreign workers to recruiting agencies that brought them to the country and the Malaysian government collected a levy but eventually the agents concerned did not know where the workers were and this "flood of foreign workers" created problems for society.
Although migrant workers, especially the illegal ones, were eventually repatriated by the government, the problem did not seem to end as they returned to the country and the ones who benefited were the travel agents and migrant workers recruitment agencies, Abdul Khalid said.
On the protest voiced by Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) on the Selangor-levy plan, he said local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) like Suaram must place priority on national interests and not champion universal human rights and attack the state government for looking after its residents in their own homeland.
-- BERNAMA
Saturday March 29, 2008 (Star Online)
Think of national interests, Suaram told
BANTING: Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) should take a more national approach to foreign worker issues and not attack the state government, says Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.
Khalid said the state government’s proposal to collect RM9 monthly from all migrant workers in the state was aimed at setting up a fund to help provide re-training for local unemployed youths so they could land better jobs.
He said foreign workers living and working in Selangor enjoyed all the state's infrastructure, like good schools, health facilities and roads and the state was just calling for them contribute something in return.
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Well done: Khalid presenting a certificate to top participant Mohd Shaari Md Lazit during the closing ceremony of the training course at Pulapes in Jugra Friday. —Bernama |
“Suaram feels that bringing in foreign workers is one of the solutions to human rights problems but they should understand we have to help our own people, too.
“This is a democracy, so we can open up and discuss the matter,” he told reporters after officiating at the closing ceremony of the training for local authorities' enforcement officers at the Selangor Enforcement Training Centre (Pulapes) in Jugra here yesterday.
On Monday, Suaram executive director Yap Swee Seng hit out at the state government's proposal, calling it unjust as foreign workers received low wages and were often exploited by employers or recruitment agencies with non-payment, unjust deduction of salary, long working hours and unfair dismissals.
He added that migrant workers were barely surviving and probably in debt after paying exorbitant fees to come to work in Malaysia.
Khalid meanwhile said the RM4,000 in levy and agency charges migrant workers paid was too large a sum, and the state planned to call on the Federal Government to reduce the amount.
He also proposed that a centralised information system be set up to keep an accurate record of foreign workers in the state.
“I was among the people involved in the corporatisation of the system for foreign workers and I can show ways to keep tabs on even the illegal workers,” he said.
Khalid also said the Federal Government should not cast aside suggestions just because they came from opposition parties and should accept the good ones.
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