ON HUMAN RIGHTS, JUSTICE AND PEACE ISSUES, LABOUR RIGHTS, MIGRANT RIGHTS, FOR THE ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY, TOWARDS AN END OF TORTURE, POLICE ABUSES, DISCRIMINATION...
There is much concern that when victims accept the RM1,000 compensation, and that Prasarana will cover medical cost and ... , they may be asked to sign an agreement accepting this as full and final settlement - and also abandoning their future rights to sue for damages, etc - this must be immediately clarified by Prasarana and the government... giving aid/donations not a problem...Covering the hospital bills OK - but please, do not 'trick' the victims.
64 of the 213 passengers were rushed to hospital with
six sustaining serious injuries, and three requiring ventilator support.
Prasarana must accept responsibility - but now, media reports that '... Its chairman Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman also claimed the
incident was beyond the company’s control,... ' Does this mean Prasarana is not taking responsibility? Even if the collision happened as a result of its workers, employees, contractors, etc ...it still will be Prasarana's fault....
Loss of income - well, this would only be for the self-employed and....other workers will be still entitled to paid sick/hospitalization leave...
We remember MAS, our Malaysian Airline - and how the then government passed a law that new company will not be liable for obligations/debt of the old company. A joke it was, as the owners of the old company and the new company were the same - the Malaysian government...
When the airline disappeared, some tried to blame the pilot - but as mentioned earlier the company is ultimately responsible even if the 'mistake' was caused by some worker..
For now, what is needed is an INDEPENDENT investigation - but is it possible for a government owned company or a GLC? Do we need a Royal Commission of Inquiry...or a Parliamentary Committee to investigate???
2 LRT trains crashed??? How can this even happen...if it gets derailed and 1 train crashes, we can expect this kind of possibility ...I am curious...and many are curious as to what really happened? Was the system 'hacked'? ....
Prasarana offers RM1,000 in compensation to all 213 LRT crash victims each, will also cover medical costs, lost income
Tuesday, 25 May 2021 11:45 AM MYT
BY JOHN BUNYAN
Prasarana chairman Datuk Seri
Tajuddin Abdul Rahman inspects the site of the accident between two LRT
trains near the KLCC station in Kuala Lumpur May 25, 2021. ― Bernama pic
Subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on news you need to know.
KUALA LUMPUR, May 25 — Public transport operator Prasarana Malaysia
Bhd today announced an RM1,000 compensation package for over 200
passengers after the collision between two trains on the LRT Kelana Jaya
line last night.
Its chairman Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman also claimed the
incident was beyond the company’s control, and stressed that it will
take full responsibility over the matter.
“The incident was an unexpected accident. We apologised to the victims and the public.
“This is the first time such an incident has happened. However, I
have discussed with the management and will take necessary action to
help the affected passengers,” he told a press conference after visiting
the accident site today.
Tajuddin also confirmed that the accident involved 213 passengers who were travelling from Gombak to KLCC.
He said that a total of 64 passengers were rushed to hospital with
six sustaining serious injuries, and three requiring ventilator support.
“Other than that, we will also be aiding those who were hospitalised.
We will cover their medical expenses from the day they are admitted
until they are discharged,” he said.
He also said that Prasana Berhad will also be covering the cost for those who lost their income due to the accident.
“We will help them with their living expenses for a reasonable number of days until they are fit to go back to work,” he added.
Tajuddin also said the cause of the accident is yet to be known and the authorities are still investigating.
“The investigation will take about two weeks,” he added.
He said the management have complied with the movement control order
(MCO) standard operating procedures and only carried 213 passengers in
the train, where the full capacity of the train is actually 800.
“Some of the pictures that were circulated in social media are old
pictures. We have not allowed so many passengers since the MCO came into
effect,” he said.
Tajuddin also assured that their train services including LRT and
other trains will resume as usual and there is no problem in it.
“The accident is only between the two trains. The tracks are fine,” he said.
For those passengers who want to reclaim their personal belongings left in the trains can dial 014-7371330 or email recovery2021@prasarana.com.my. - Malay Mail, 25/5/2021
Why did the Malaysian government, or the Ministry of Human Resource do the needful for workers?
‘Slavery’ found at a Malaysian glove factory. Why didn’t the auditor see it?
Wednesday, 19 May 2021 09:17 PM MYT
Human Resources Datuk Seri M.
Saravanan inspects a workers’ dormitory, which glove-maker Brightway
Holdings confirms is one of its facilities, in Selangor, December 21,
2020, in this image obtained via social media. — Malaysia Ministry of
Human Resources handout pic via Reuters
Subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on news you need to know.
KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 — In December 2020, with coronavirus infections
spreading rapidly across factories and workers’ dormitories in Malaysia,
officials raided latex glove maker Brightway Holdings near Kuala
Lumpur. They said they found workers living in shipping containers,
under conditions so squalid that Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M.
Saravanan later likened them to “modern slavery.”
Nineteen months earlier, inspectors from a social-auditing firm —
private contractors that help companies monitor environmental, social
and other ethical standards in industries from toys to palm oil — had
visited the same three facilities. In three reports over 350 pages, they
had detailed 61 violations of global ethical standards and checked
boxes for 50 violations of Malaysian labour laws.
Even so, the executive summary of each report concluded: “There is no
forced, bonded or involuntary prison labour hired in this facility.”
Brightway’s customers include some of the world’s biggest suppliers
of personal care and protective equipment. The company’s managing
director, G. Baskaran, shared the audit reports from 2019 and 2020 with
Reuters in April, saying they show that “we did not practice any form of
forced labour or modern slavery.”
These contrasting conclusions highlight little-known flaws in global
efforts to monitor labour conditions. Social audits — independent
reports used by global brands to test that their suppliers meet ethical
norms — are not always effective in identifying labour risks, and can
even obscure them, more than two dozen auditors, oversight bodies,
factory workers and labour rights groups told Reuters.
Laws around the world prohibit the use of forced labour, but no rules
govern the quality of audits, which are voluntary, audit firms told
Reuters. Auditors are usually paid by the firms they are auditing,
raising potential conflicts of interest if inspectors feel compelled to
give positive reports to retain business. Beyond this, inspectors and
Brightway workers told Reuters, companies can manipulate what auditors
see on site.
There is no evidence of any impropriety by the auditor Brightway
hired, British firm Intertek Group, which declined to comment on
Brightway. Intertek said its audits meet stringent operational
procedures with rigorous standards, and are themselves subject to
regular and thorough independent audits. It did not say by whom.
Neither Saravanan, the Malaysian cabinet minister who criticised
Brightway on national TV, nor his ministry responded to requests for
further comment.
INVESTIGATION
About a month after the Malaysia raids, US Customs and Border
Protection opened investigations into Brightway. US Customs is examining
forced labour allegations including debt bondage, excessive overtime
and poor accommodation, according to a letter the agency sent to
Nepal-based independent labour rights activist Andy Hall after he drew
the agency’s attention to details in the audit report. Reuters reviewed a
copy of the letter.
In response, Brightway said US Customs has not asked the company for any details.
US Customs said it does not comment on whether it is investigating
specific entities. Companies it looks into submit audit reports during
that process, and some reports it has seen have been “insufficient,” a
Customs official told Reuters.
“Many companies are not willing to get a candid assessment of their
forced labour vulnerabilities because of the implications that can have
on their reputation, their profitability, and their stockholders,” said
Ana Hinojosa, an executive director at CBP’s trade office, which
investigates forced labour allegations.
Two other social auditors who reviewed the Brightway reports for
Reuters said some of the findings may indicate forced labour as defined
by the International Labour Organisation, which has set out 11
indicators that point to “the possible existence of a forced labour
case.” The relevant findings in the Brightway reports were: excessive
working hours, high recruitment fees paid by workers to agents, and
unsafe living and working conditions.
Labour activist Hall said the Brightway reports’ conclusions were
“completely misleading” because they overlooked evidence contained in
the reports themselves. Customers who only read executive summaries
would miss such evidence, he said.
WHAT THE AUDITOR SAW
Malaysia is a manufacturing hub for everything from palm oil to
iPhone components. Firms there employ migrants from countries including
Bangladesh and Nepal and have faced the highest number of US sanctions
over forced labour allegations after China. In the last two years, US
Customs has excluded purchases from four Malaysian companies after
finding what it called reasonable evidence of forced labour.
The Brightway raid came as the United States had barred another glove
maker, Top Glove, over forced labour allegations. Top Glove said in
April it had resolved the issues that led to the ban, but the sanctions
remain in place and US authorities seized two shipments of the company’s
gloves this month.
At the time of the Brightway raid, Malaysian authorities were
inspecting companies across the country to try to ensure worker
accommodation did not become a vector for Covid-19 infection, and to
avert further claims they abused workers.
As part of efforts to get the bans revoked, Malaysian companies have
given millions of dollars to workers to repay recruitment fees that the
workers have paid to middlemen. These fees can be onerous, forcing
workers into debt.
In the Brightway case, recruitment fees were among problems
inspectors had highlighted in the body of the reports. All 78 workers
interviewed at the three facilities told inspectors they had paid
recruitment fees of up to US$4,200 (RM17,380) each to agents.
Other points the inspectors noted include a dormitory in the same
compound as the factory and a dorm without any beds or mattresses;
different signatures on some workers’ passports than on their employment
contracts; and people working as many as 15 hours a day.
Malaysia’s constitution prohibits forced labour, and the country has
several laws that address safety, accommodation, working hours and other
workers’ rights. Brightway now faces a total of 30 charges for
violating a law on minimum standards of housing and amenities, the
Malaysian labour department said in December.
Brightway did not comment on these charges. Asked about the
authorities’ claim that workers were living in shipping containers,
Brightway’s Baskaran told Reuters the government inspectors were
mistaken: The workers’ quarters were covered with metal decking, which
could have been misconstrued as containers, he said.
Brightway says it is not responsible for alleged violations such as
recruiters charging hiring fees or imposing long hours, because it does
not charge fees and overtime hours were in accordance with Malaysian
laws. It said its dormitories were congested, “purely due to the Covid
situation,” because it had converted a warehouse into temporary
accommodation.
After the December raid, Brightway paid its 2,719 workers RM38 million, to repay their recruitment fees, Baskaran said.
Asked about the audit findings on forced labour indicators, he said, “it depends on how you interpret forced labour.”
RED FLAGS
Brightway’s customers include Kimberly Clark of the United States,
whose brands include Kleenex and Andrex; Australian personal protective
equipment supplier Ansell; and the UK’s National Health Service. All
declined to comment in detail on Intertek’s reports. Ansell told Reuters
the audits, when it inspected them, “revealed several non-compliances
with labour standards.”
Ansell and Kimberly-Clark both said Brightway had corrected some of these problems since the government raid in December.
Kimberly-Clark spokesman Terry Balluck said the company was “keenly
aware of the real-life challenges with an effective audit,” but added
that every audit identifies “some issue or opportunity,” and audits
continue to be an effective tool to safeguard workers at all levels.
Ansell said audits are a key tool that should be supplemented with
dialogue and communication with suppliers. The NHS directed queries to
the UK Department of Health and Social Care. A spokesman said, “all our
suppliers must follow the highest legal and ethical standards or they
can be blocked from applying for future contracts.”
The International Labour Organisation did not comment on the
Brightway audit, but said it was aware of doubts over how effectively
such private initiatives protect workers’ rights.
“There is also the question about what happens before and after the
audits, and how the violations detected are addressed,” the UN agency
said in an email.
Five Brightway workers told Reuters they had been informed in advance
by their supervisors of planned audits. They said they were asked to
clean their hostels ahead of time and provide only positive feedback
about the company on their food, hostel facilities and access to
passports.
All five, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Brightway usually
withholds workers’ passports but places them in their personal lockers
on days auditors visit. Retention of passports by an employer is
considered a forced labour indicator by the ILO.
Brightway’s Baskaran said workers can access their passports any time
in the lockers, for which they have keys. Brightway does not prepare
workers for the audit, but there are efforts to clean hostels, he said.
“During audits, just like everything else, it is a norm to put in
extra effort to clean up the place, amongst other activities,” he said. —
Reuters, Malay Mail, 19/5/2021
Many Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia, have been repeatedly dislodged and 'moved' from their homes and villagers, whenever 'development' happens... Many years ago, near Sungai Tua, Selangor, for the move ...usually 'deeper into the forest', they were paid RM50-00... In some States, the 'orang asli' are being kept in the same state as they were - so that they can still be 'tourist attraction' ....Now, Selangor is evicting Orang Asli to make way for a tourist destination????
Like the Orang Asli, many Malays and other locals also are living on land that 'officially' they do not own. For the non-Asli community, they live on lands and homes because the local community there are no objections, or maybe they bought the 'house' from the previous owners - a check on the Land Register will reveal that they are not the 'registered' land owners. Some have been living and working on land granted with T.O.L.(temporary occupation licenses) or maybe short leases...
The Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia because of the fact that they have been 'pushed' by encroaching development and other factors from time to time ...so much so many may have even moved out of what could be considered their NCR land('native customary rights land')
The British colonial government, the UMNO-led coalitions(Alliance, and then Barisan National), the PH Plus government and now the PN-BN plus government has failed to address this problem to date, especially for the marginalized Orang Asli communities. [Remember, there are many different Orang Asli ethnic groups in Malaysia, and in 2003, the population is as in the table below(obtained from COAC website)
Category
Sub-Group
Population
Negrito
Kensiu
Kintak
Jahai
Lanoh
Mendriq
Batek
232
157
1,843
350
164
1,255
4,001
Senoi
Semai
Temiar
Jah Hut
Che Wong
Mah Meri
Semaq Beri
43,892
25,725
5,104
664
2,986
3,545
81,826
Aboriginal Malay
Temuan
Semelai
Jakun
Orang Kanaq
Orang Kuala
Orang Seletar
22,162
6,418
27,448
83
4,067
1,407
61,585
147,412
Now, traditionally, the Orang Asli and even others did not believe in land ownership - and also not personal land titles/ownership.
Although the original people of the land, sadly even the Federal Constitution fails to provide for 'special protection' and rights - although it is provided for the Malays...Post-independence, this failure could have been remedied by governments but they did not..
Now, 36 Orang Asli from 12 families of Mah Meri
people of Kg Orang Asli Bagan Lalang have been told to vacate their
village because the land is slated to be developed into a tourist
destination..
What is MOST DISAPPOINTING is that this is a state governed by the PH Plus government, who 'claimed' to be an alternative better government. {The PH Plus government was ousted in early 2020, by another coalition of parties - the PN-BN plus government}
Is this not hypocritical of a government that once was concerned about Orang Asli rights - in January 2019... The Malaysian government[under PH Plus] said it would sue the local
government of Kelantan state for failing to uphold the land rights of
its indigenous people... ?????
Mah Meri tribe evicted from village to make way for tourism project
The site where the Mah Meri
of Kg Orang Asli Bagan Lalang have been asked to vacate is to be part of
a future tourism destination under the Sepang GoldCoast development
project. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, May 14, 2021.
THE Mah Meri
people of Kg Orang Asli Bagan Lalang have been told to vacate their
village because the land is slated to be developed into a tourist
destination under the Sepang GoldCoast development project, Permodalan
Negeri Selangor Bhd (PNSB) said.
The village is a brief walk from the sandy beach that faces the
Straits of Malacca, while the Avani Sepang Gold Coast Resort is a short
distance away.
“The plan is to develop the area for tourism by Sepang Bay Sdn Bhd as
part of the Sepang GoldCoast development project,” the company told The
Malaysian Insight in response to a report on the eviction notice served to more than 30 Orang Asli in the village.
PNSB said the Orang Asli’s appeal for an extension to their eviction
will be considered by the Sepang district and land office. PNSB and the
land office are the landowners.
On April 20, 36 Orang Asli from 12 families in the village were
served with the eviction notice. They have to vacate the land within 30
days from the date of the notice.
Orang Asli first settled on the land about 20 years ago.
Acknowledging they are squatters on the land, they have asked for an
extension of time, saying they were not consulted prior to receiving the
eviction notice, and also have few options for relocation.
“PNSB can in principle consider the request for an extension of the
eviction notice as the date stated on the notice is not the final date
for demolition, but rather to inform the villagers that they are
encroaching on our land.
“However, all decisions (with regard to the extension) will be
determined by the Sepang land and district office,” the company said.
PNSB also confirmed it had indeed received the villagers’ letter
asking for an extension, from Taha Bin Akhir, the Tok Batin of Kg Orang
Asli Bukit Bangkung who also looks after Kg Bagan Lalang.
Taha cited the fasting month, Hari Raya, the Covid-19 pandemic and
the fact that the villagers have nowhere to go, as reasons for an
extension.
Although the villagers were not told what the plan for the land was,
PNSB said the company is looking to develop it into a tourist
destination.
According to its website, the Sepang GoldCoast development project has an estimated gross development value of RM1 billion.
It wants to transform the area into “a world-class coastal eco-city in sustainability and value creation”.
The first phase of the project started with the building of the Avani
resort. The second phase involves a development plan called D’Festival
and Laguna Villa.
D’Festival will feature a mixed commercial development for resort
living, business and entertainment while Laguna Villa will feature a
lagoon resort made with environmentally sustainable technology.
The eviction notice from PNSB’s legal department stated that Plot No
69, HS(D) 18372, PT 5249, Plot No 70, HS(D) 18373, PT 5250, HS(D) 37248
and PT 9925 belonged to the company.
“In total, PNSB owns 67.8ha of the land while the district and land
office owns 0.4ha of land near the General Operations Force building in
the village,” it said. – May 14, 2021, Malaysian Insight.
In unprecedented move, federal gov't sues Kelantan over Orang Asli land rights
The
Malaysian government said on Friday it would sue the local government
of Kelantan state for failing to uphold the land rights of its
indigenous people, a move that activists said was unprecedented and that
could lead to more protection measures. Pic by NSTP/AHMAD IRHAM MOHD
NOOR
BANGKOK:
The Malaysian government said on Friday it would sue the local
government of Kelantan state for failing to uphold the land rights of
its indigenous people, a move that activists said was unprecedented and
that could lead to more protection measures.
Orang Asli, meaning “original people“, is the term used for
Malaysia’s indigenous people, who make up about 14 per cent of the
population. They have been pitted against logging and palm oil companies
keen to tap the forested areas in which they live.
Logging companies, which have cleared vast forest areas in Kelantan
for durian and rubber plantations, had deprived the Temiar Orang Asli of
their ancestral land and resources, the office of the Attorney General
said in a statement on Friday.
State authorities did not consult the community before granting the licences, nor offer them compensation, it said.
“Rapid deforestation and commercial development have resulted in
widespread encroachment into the native territories of the Orang Asli,”
Attorney General Tommy Thomas said in the statement.
“Commercial development and the pursuit of profit must not come at
the expense of the Temiar Orang Asli and their inherent right, as
citizens of this country, to the land and resources which they have
traditionally owned and used,” he said.
The suit, filed in the high court of Kelantan’s state capital Kota
Baru, seeks the legal recognition of the Temiar Orang Asli’s land
rights, and injunctions to restrain private firms from encroaching on
and destroying their land.
The suit names the state government of Kelantan – which lies in the
north-east of mainland Malaysia – as well as the state director of land,
the forestry department and five private entities as defendants.
Malaysia has adopted the United Nations’ declaration on the rights of
indigenous people, which advocates free, prior and informed consent of
communities that might be affected by commercial projects.
Yet that is rarely done, activists have said.
Dozens of disputes that pitted indigenous communities against logging
and palm oil companies have ended up in court, and several campaigners
have been killed in recent years, according to rights groups.
Malaysia’s government, which came to power in May after ousting a
corruption-mired coalition, offered some hope, said human rights lawyer
Charles Hector.
“Land is a state subject, so it is very significant that the federal
government is taking this unprecedented step of suing a state government
over the land rights of the Orang Asli,” he said.
“In representing the Orang Asli against the state, the federal
government is signalling a different direction for indigenous rights,”
he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Around the world, indigenous and local communities own more than half
of the land under customary rights, yet have secure legal rights to
just 10 per cent, according to advocacy group Rights and Resources
Initiative. - NST, 18/1/2019
Palestinian issue - what exactly is Malaysia's position? [Do read the 2 attached articles to get a better understanding...]
Does Malaysia accept the 2-state solution? Note, that many in the region do not agree to this - wanting a 1 Palestinian state...
If yes, should not Malaysia at least be calling for Israel to immediately leave the occupied Palestinian territories of West Bank including East Jerusalem, and full independence be granted to Palestine - West Bank and Gaza?
Should not the UN be pressured to give Palestine full membership status?
Should not the UN immediately place UN peace-keeping forces, to ensure peace in the liberated areas? Or maybe a 'buffer' UN Force will end/deter violence and rights violations.
Again the bombing of Gaza shifts the focus to Gaza..away from the Palestinian issue - the long standing issue in this region...and focus goes to 'humanitarian aid' and 'ceasefire'...
We need to remember that this region was part of the Ottoman Empire that fell to the allied forces after World War 1 - and the land was divided between 3 countries, and Palestine was obtained by the British....then, it was the British that decided to 'facilitate' the creation of a Jewish nation state... hence disrupting a multi-religious multi-ethnic community living in peace and respect - into religious-ethnically divided states.... same thing they did to India, did they not?
This British position (i.e. through the Balfour Declaration) facilitated the migration of Jews from Europe and other places, even before WW II into the region. The new Jews, being the non-Palestinian Jews, may today be the majority amongst the Jews in the region...
Now, the protest is happening all over including in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian Territory of West Bank, and also in Israel itself....
Has this got anything to do with the upcoming Palestinian General Elections...(this we will discuss later).
The bombing of Gaza DIVERTS attention from the 'forced eviction' happening in East Jerusalem and other occupied territories, from the 'illegal resettlement' plans/activities of Israeli Jews (possibly to change the ethnic/religious demography) of East Jerusalem and parts of the occupied territories that Israel may have plans to absorb into Israel...now everyone is talking about 'ceasefire' and 'humanitarian aid to Gaza' ????
A violent confrontation is underway between Israel and Palestine. (Source: Reuters)
Infographic: Reuters
The
Israel-Palestine tension has turned into a violent confrontation
leaving the international community worried. Israel has warned of
escalating its attack on Palestine. India, at the UN Security Council,
has called for peaceful resolution of Israel-Palestine batting for a
two-state solution.
The two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine
question has been in conversation for long. In 2016, the then US
secretary of state John Kerry had termed it “the only way to achieve a
just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians”.
What is the Two-State Solution?
In
the simplest terms, the two-state solution talks about providing two
separate territories to people of two nations — Israel and Palestine —
having different ethnicities and languages. It talks of establishing an
independent Palestinian alongside Israel providing Tel Aviv security and
a Jewish demographic while granting Palestinians a state over their
heads.
The goal has also been the official line of policy for the
United States and the United Nations, the two most dominant forces
around the conflict.
A bone of contention between Israel and Palestine has been the status of Jerusalem. (Reuters)
While
the two-state solution is simple to understand, its execution has been
equally difficult owing to issues arising at the unsettled borders.
There is no consensus on where exactly to draw the line between the two
countries.
Independent
experts believe that a border should be drawn on the basis of the
Arab-Israel war of 1967. But Israel has constructed barriers along and
within the West Bank pushing its territorial limits farter. The Jewish
settlements along these lines are a major challenge to demarcate a
boundary as Palestine views that those settlements are on its territory.
Another
bone of contention between Israel and Palestine has been the status of
Jerusalem, which both sides aim to declare as their capital. The
two-state solution calls for dividing Jerusalem into an Israeli west and
a Palestinian east part. However, the presence of Jewish, Muslim and
Christian holy sites at one place makes it a difficult affair to
execute.
The two-state solution if adopted could provide a security blanket to people
of both Israel and Palestine. For Israel, it could mean an end to
continuous worry of a full-blown takeover of the West Bank by Hamas, and
for Palestine, it could end foreign military occupation.
Israel's Iron Dome system destroying Hamas rockets in skies. (Photo: Reuters)
US policies and failure of Abraham Accords
The
situation turned from bad to worse during Donald Trump's presidency in
the US. Trump supported Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's
hardline policies severing the US’s ties with Palestine and moving away
from the decade-old more nuanced diplomatic stand on the conflict.
Trump
also allowed the expansion of Jewish settlements in the disputed areas.
While President Joe Biden has termed Donald Trump's policies as
"destructive", he is yet to reverse those policies.
The
Trump administration brokered Abraham Accords — a joint statement by
Israel, the UAE, and the US issued in 2020, and which became a model for
Israel inking similar deals with Arab countries.
Former US President Donald Trump with Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu. (Photo: Reuters)
The
Abraham Accords aimed at recognising Israel as a country and to switch
some of the age-old Palestinian supporters in the Arab world towards Tel
Aviv. Israel managed to find recognition for its existence through the
accords with United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco. They
have failed to draw Palestine to the negotiation table that was once a
nuanced approach.
Benjamin
Netanyahu himself supported the two-state solution in 2009. However,
over the years, his policies have become more hardline.
India’s position on Israel-Palestine dispute
India
has deepened its ties with Israel in recent decades but it has
supported a two-state solution for longer period while calling for an
end to the violence. India’s Permanent Representative to the UN,
Ambassador TS Tirumurti during a UN Security Council meeting on "the
situation in the Middle East" on Sunday said, "The events of the last
several days have resulted in a sharp deterioration of the security
situation."
"Immediate de-escalation is the need of the hour, so as to
arrest any further slide towards the brink. We urge both sides to show
extreme restraint, desist from actions that exacerbate tensions, and
refrain from attempts to unilaterally change the existing status quo,
including in East Jerusalem and its neighbourhood,” Tirumurti said.
Tirumurti
said India condemned the indiscriminate rocket firings from Gaza
targeting the civilian population in Israel. He said the retaliatory
strikes into Gaza have caused immense suffering and resulted in deaths,
including of women and children.
"Immediately resume direct
dialogue, create conducive conditions, support just Palestinian cause
and two-State solution," Tirumurti said. - India Today, 17/5/2021
How Britain Destroyed the Palestinian Homeland
100 years since Balfour’s “promise”, Palestinians insist that their rights in Palestine cannot be dismissed.
When
I was a child growing up in a Gaza refugee camp, I looked forward to
November 2. On that day, every year, thousands of students and camp
residents would descend upon the main square of the camp, carrying
Palestinian flags and placards, to denounce the Balfour Declaration.
Truthfully, my giddiness then was motivated largely by the fact that
schools would inevitably shut down and, following a brief but bloody
confrontation with the Israeli army, I would go home early to the loving
embrace of my mother, where I would eat a snack and watch cartoons.
At the time, I had no idea who Balfour was, and how his “declaration” all those years ago had altered the destiny of my family and, by extension, my life and the lives of my children as well.
All I knew was that he was a bad person and, because of his terrible
deed, we subsisted in a refugee camp, encircled by a violent army and by
an ever-expanding graveyard filled with “martyrs”.
‘Balfour had pledged my homeland to another people’ [Getty Images]
Decades later, destiny would lead me to visit the Whittingehame
Church, a small parish in which Arthur James Balfour is now buried.
While my parents and grandparents are buried in a refugee camp, an ever-shrinking space under a perpetual siege
and immeasurable hardship, Balfour’s resting place is an oasis of peace
and calmness. The empty meadow all around the church is large enough to
host all the refugees in my camp.
The British government remains unrepentant after all these years. It
has yet to take any measure of moral responsibility, however symbolic,
for what it has done to the Palestinians.
Finally, I became fully aware of why Balfour was a “bad person”.
Once
Britain’s Prime Minister, then the Foreign Secretary from late 1916,
Balfour had pledged my homeland to another people. That promise was made
on November 2, 1917, on behalf of the British government in the form of
a letter sent to the leader of the Jewish community in Britain, Walter
Rothschild.
At the time, Britain was not even in control of Palestine, which was still part of the Ottoman Empire. Either way, my homeland was never Balfour’s to so casually transfer to anyone else. His letter read:
“His Majesty’s government view with favour the establishment in
Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their
best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being
clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the
civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in
Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any
other country.”
He concluded, “I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.”
Ironically, members of the British parliament have declared that the use of the term “Zionist” is both anti-Semitic and abusive.
The
British government remains unrepentant after all these years. It has
yet to take any measure of moral responsibility, however symbolic, for
what it has done to the Palestinians. Worse, it is now busy attempting
to control the very language used by Palestinians to identify those who
have deprived them of their land and freedom.
But the truth is, not only was Rothschild a Zionist, Balfour was,
too. Zionism, then, before it deservedly became a swear word, was a
political notion that Europeans prided themselves to be associated with.
In fact, just before he became Prime Minister, David Cameron
declared, before the Conservative Friends of Israel meeting, that he,
too, was a Zionist. His successor, Theresa May, even celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Balfour declaration, ‘with pride’.
To some extent, being a Zionist remains a rite of passage for some Western leaders.
A rally in Beirut commemorating the Balfour declaration in 1945 [Getty Images]
Balfour was hardly acting on his own. True, the Declaration bears his
name, yet, in reality, he was a loyal agent of an empire with massive
geopolitical designs, not only concerning Palestine alone but with
Palestine as part of a larger Arab landscape.
Just a year earlier, another sinister document was introduced, albeit
secretly. It was endorsed by another top British diplomat, Mark Sykes
and, on behalf of France, by François Georges-Picot. The Russians were
informed of the agreement, as they too had received a piece of the
Ottoman cake.
The
document indicated that, once the Ottomans were soundly defeated, their
territories, including Palestine, would be split among the prospective
victorious parties.
The Sykes-Picot Agreement,
also known as the Asia Minor Agreement, was signed in secret 102 years
ago, two years into World War I. It signified the brutal nature of
colonial powers that rarely associated land and resources with people
that lived upon the land and owned those resources.
The centrepiece of the agreement was a map that was marked with
straight lines by a china graph pencil. The map largely determined the
fate of the Arabs, dividing them in accordance with various haphazard
assumptions of tribal and sectarian lines.
Once the war was over, the loot was to be divided into spheres of influence:
France would receive areas marked (a), which included: the region of
south-eastern Turkey, northern Iraq – including Mosel, most of Syria
and Lebanon.
British-controlled areas were marked with the letter (b), which
included: Jordan, southern Iraq, Haifa and Acre in Palestine and a
coastal strip between the Mediterranean Sea and the River Jordan.
Russia would be granted Istanbul, Armenia and the strategic Turkish Straits.
The improvised map consisted not only of lines but also colours,
along with language that attested to the fact that the two countries
viewed the Arab region purely on materialistic terms, without paying the
slightest attention to the possible repercussions of slicing up entire
civilizations with a multifarious history of co-operation and conflict.
The agreement read, partly:
“…
in the blue area France, and in the red area Great Britain, shall be
allowed to establish such direct or indirect administration or control
as they desire and as they may think fit to arrange with the Arab state
or confederation of Arab states.”
The brown area, however, was designated as an international
administration, the nature of which was to be decided upon after further
consultation among Britain, France and Russia. The Sykes-Picot
negotiations finished in March 1916 and were official, although secretly
signed on May 19, 1916. World War I concluded on November 11, 1918,
after which the division of the Ottoman Empire began in earnest.
British and French mandates were extended over divided Arab entities,
while Palestine was granted to the Zionist movement a year later, when
Balfour conveyed the British government’s promise, sealing the fate of
Palestine to live in perpetual war and turmoil.
The idea of Western “peacemakers” and “honest-brokers”, who are very
much a party in every Middle Eastern conflict, is not new. British
betrayal of Arab aspirations goes back many decades. They used the Arabs
as pawns in their Great Game against other colonial contenders, only to
betray them later on, while still casting themselves as friends bearing
gifts.
Nowhere else was this hypocrisy on full display as was in the case of
Palestine. Starting with the first wave of Zionist Jewish migration to
Palestine in 1882, European countries helped to facilitate the movement
of illegal settlers and resources, where the establishment of many
colonies, large and small, was afoot.
So when Balfour sent his letter to Rothschild, the idea of a Jewish homeland in Palestine was very much plausible.
Still, many supercilious promises were being made to the Arabs during
the Great War years, as self-imposed Arab leadership sided with the
British in their war against the Ottoman Empire. Arabs were promised
instant independence, including that of the Palestinians.
The understanding among Arab leaders was that Article 22 of the
Covenant of the League of Nations was to apply to Arab provinces that
were ruled by the Ottomans. Arabs were told that they were to be
respected as “a sacred trust of civilisation”, and their communities
were to be recognised as “independent nations”.
Palestinians wanted to believe that they were also included in that
civilisation sacredness, and were deserving of independence, too. Their
conduct in support of the Pan-Arab Congress, as voting delegates in July
1919, which elected Faisal as a King of a state comprising Palestine,
Lebanon, Transjordan and Syria, and their continued support of Sharif
Hussein of Mecca, were all expressions of their desire for the
long-coveted sovereignty.
When the intentions of the British and their rapport with the Zionists became too apparent,Palestinians rebelled,
a rebellion that has never ceased, 99 years later, for the horrific
consequences of British colonialism and the eventual complete Zionist
takeover of Palestine are still felt after all these years.
Paltry
attempts to pacify Palestinian anger were to no avail, especially after
the League of Nations Council in July 1922 approved the terms of the
British Mandate over Palestine – which was originally granted to Britain
in April 1920 – without consulting the Palestinians at all, who would
disappear from the British and international radar, only to reappear as
negligible rioters, troublemakers, and obstacles to the joint
British-Zionist colonial concoctions.
Despite occasional assurances to the contrary, the British intention
of ensuring the establishment of an exclusively Jewish state in
Palestine was becoming clearer with time.
The Balfour Declaration was hardly an aberration, but had, indeed, set the stage for the full-scale ethnic cleansing that followed, three decades later.
The Balfour Declaration set the stage for the full-scale ethnic cleansing that followed three decades later [Getty Images]
In his book, Before Their Diaspora,
Palestinian scholar Walid Khalidi captured the true collective
understanding among Palestinians regarding what had befallen their
homeland nearly a century ago: “The Mandate, as a whole, was seen by the
Palestinians as an Anglo-Zionist condominium and its terms as
instruments for the implementation of the Zionist programme; it had been
imposed on them by force, and they considered it to be both morally and
legally invalid. The Palestinians constituted the vast majority of the
population and owned the bulk of the land. Inevitably, the ensuing
struggle centred on this status quo. The British and the Zionists were
determined to subvert and revolutionise it, the Palestinians to defend
and preserve it.”
In fact, that history remains in constant replay: The Zionists
claimed Palestine and renamed it “Israel”; the British continue to
support them, although never ceasing to pay lip service to the Arabs;
the Palestinian people remain a nation that is geographically fragmented
between refugee camps, in the diaspora, militarily occupied, or treated
as second-class citizens in a country upon which their ancestors dwelt
since time immemorial.
While
Balfour cannot be blamed for all the misfortunes that have befallen
Palestinians since he communicated his brief but infamous letter, the
notion that his “promise” embodied – that of complete disregard of the
aspirations of the Palestinian Arab people – is handed from one
generation of British diplomats to the next, the same way that
Palestinian resistance to colonialism is also spread across generations.
In his essay
in Al-Ahram Weekly, entitled “Truth and Reconciliation”, the late
Professor Edward Said wrote: “Neither the Balfour Declaration nor the
Mandate ever specifically concede that Palestinians had political, as
opposed to civil and religious, rights in Palestine.
The idea of inequality between Jews and Arabs was, therefore, built
into British – and, subsequently, Israeli and US – policy from the
start.”
That inequality continues, thus the perpetuation of the conflict.
What the British, the early Zionists, the Americans and subsequent
Israeli governments failed to understand, and continue to ignore at
their peril, is that there can be no peace without justice and equality
in Palestine; and that Palestinians will continue to resist, as long as
the reasons that inspired their rebellion nearly a century ago, remain
in place.
One hundred years later, the British government is yet to possess the
moral courage to take responsibility for what their government has done
to the Palestinian people.
One hundred years later, Palestinians insist that their rights in
Palestine cannot be dismissed, neither by Balfour nor by his modern
peers in “Her Majesty’s Government”.
This page was first published at the 99th anniversary of the Balfour declaration and has been updated since.
1MDB response by Malaysia seems to emerge again with regard to the Forced Labour FINDING in Top Glove by US. When that issue of kleptocracy, corruption, etc first emerged, the Malaysian government 'denied' or ignored it despite the fact that action was being taken in many other countries.
Now, we have the allegation of 'FORCED LABOUR' in Malaysian factories. In July 2020, the US Customs and Border Protection was at the stage of suspicion...'reasonably but not conclusively...', but in March 2021, it became a finding of fact...
In July 2020, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection was only at the stage of being ‘‘reasonably but not conclusively indicates that merchandise was produced by 'forced labour' -hence only a withhold release order
But in March 2021, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection made a finding/determination that certain articles ....that are mined, produced, or manufactured in whole or in part with the use of convict, forced, or indentured labor by Top Glove Corporation Bhd in Malaysia, - and, after this it was 'seize and forfeit...
What is shocking is what has been the Malaysian response to date .... The allegations are about 'forced labour' - but what are the specific allegations? Are they violations of Malaysian law? What has the Malaysian government done about this 'FAKE news' or "TRUE allegations'?
Investigations by the Labour Department on rubber glove manufacturer,
Top Glove Corp Bhd, relating to claims that the company used forced
labour, was found to be baseless, said Human Resource Minister Datuk
Seri M. Saravanan.
...before the detention order on Top Glove was announced, an operation
by task forces for the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of
Migrants Act 2007 and the Recovery Movement Control Order (MCO) was
conducted at Top Glove’s headquarters in Meru, Klang on July 13.
He
said the investigations found that the company had violated the
standard operating procedures of the MCO, namely not complying to social
distancing in the work place and provision of cramped housing quarters,
wherein the company was compounded by the Ministry of Housing and Local
Government.
“However, there was no offence, and no elements of forced labour were detected,“ he said.- 21/7/2020, Sun Daily
Well, now products made by Malaysian factories of the SAME company are being seized...after the Finding in March 2021... Both Azmin Ali (Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI)]
and Saravanan [HR Minister] in March and April 2021 respectively seem
to say that they are still waiting for the 'full report'' ...
Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI)will look at the
full report on the allegation by the United States that Top Glove Corp
Bhd had used forced labour in its disposable glove production in
Malaysia. Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali (30/3/2021)
12/4/2021 - It is still too early for the government to come to a conclusion on
the allegations against Top Glove Corp Bhd, which has been slapped with
forced labour claims by a United States (US) authority.Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan said the ministry
was still waiting for a full report on the allegations made against Top
Glove, which is the world's largest glove manufacturer.However, he reiterated that the ministry would not
compromise with any quarters and that action would be taken against the
company should the allegation of abuse against its workers was found to
be true.
Is the US lying about 'FORCED LABOUR' in Malaysia's Top Glove factory? That is the question that is baffling Malaysians - and the Malaysian Government, or the Human Resources Minister, Saravanan or the Prime Minister is not saying anything - is this a FALSE Allegation - or, is it TRUE.
Well, we do not know the details of the allegations of FORCED LABOUR - but whilst the government is basically 'procrastinating' or denying - it seems that TOP GLOVE is doing the needful to address these 'forced labour allegations' and end forced labour practices in their factory...So, why is the Malaysian government ADMITTING the existence of 'forced labour', and thereafter doing the needful, including even enacting needed laws, to ensure that Malaysia also is against FORCED LABOUR???
What are the indicators of FORCED LABOUR?
The 11 ILO indicators are:
abuse of vulnerability
retention of identity documents
restriction of movement
excessive overtime
abusive working and living conditions
deception
isolation
debt bondage
withholding of wages
physical and sexual violence and
intimidation
Does Malaysia have labour laws that deal with these different 11 indicators? Is it in compliance with at the very least minimum international standards? We already know that Malaysian law and labour standards need SERIOUS OVERHAUL - this is an old story...
Remember how Malaysia was embarased in 2015 when our labour laws and standards were found to be seriously lacking - we had to do the needed legal reform before Malaysia could be part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement(TPPA) because some countries ARE Barred from entering into certain countries which do not respect and protect worker rights and human rights. - see Malaysia's Embarassingly Poor Worker and Trade Union Rights Reality - Malaysia – United States Labour Consistency Plan?
Note that Agreement spelled out what Malaysia must do with regard to preventing 'Forced Labour'
...B. Forced Labour
Protections against the withholding of passports
1. Malaysia shall:
(a) amend the implementing regulations to the Passport Act
1966 (Act 150) toreinforce that
retaining a worker’s passport by his or her employer is illegal.Such regulations shall include requiring that
foreign workers are fully informed of their right to retain their own passports
and informing workers that they retain the right to access their passports at
any time, without delay or approval of any other individual and without consequencetotheirstatusandrelationshipwiththeiremployerorrecruitmentagency;
(b) amend the implementing regulations to Act 150 to require that private employers that
utilize foreign workers in their
operations (either through a direct
employment relationship or through anemployment agency) provide to each foreign
worker a notice informing workers of their right to retain their passport and
information on how to report violations of this right.Private employers with more than 10 foreign workers
and recruitment agencies also shall post a notice to this effect;
(c) amend the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and
Amenities Act 1990 (Act 446) so that it covers all sectors (beyond only
plantations) and to require that private employers or recruitment agencies that
provide housing to foreign workers provide secure facilities (for example, personal lockers) for the storage and
safekeeping of workers’passportsandothervaluables.These facilities mustallowworkerstoaccess their passports at any
time and without prior authorization; and
(d) effectivelyenforcerelevantlawsandregulationstoinvestigateandprosecuteemployers nd recruitment agencies that retain employee passports.
Foreign worker recruitment practices, contracts and fees
2. Malaysia shall:
(a) ensure that all entities that recruit foreign workers,
whether a recruitment agency oradirectemployer,arecoveredbythesectionsofthePrivateEmploymentAgencies Act of 1981 (Act 246), including provisions regarding
limitations on the recruitment fees charged to a foreign worker;
(b) amend relevant laws and regulations to provide that any
government levies charged for employment of foreign workers are the obligation of the
employer, rather than the foreign
worker;
(c) amend itslawsandregulationstoprovidethatlarge-scale,repeatedoregregiousviolations of labour law are punishable by a denial of future quota
requests of the offendingemployerorby arevocationofthelicenseofoffendingrecruitmentagency;
(d) ensurethat any MemorandumofUnderstandingregarding the recruitmentofforeignworkersbetweenMalaysiaanda governmentofa countrythatprovides such workers will require that recruitment agencies and
employers provide foreign workersavalidwrittencontractintheirownlanguage,includingtheirtermsofwork, prior to their entrance
into Malaysia; and
(e) amend relevant
sections of Act 265 to prohibit contract substitution.
Trafficking and forced labour victim protection services
3. Malaysia shall:
(a) issue necessary regulations to the Anti-Trafficking in
Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 (Act 670) to allow victims of
trafficking to move freely to andfromshelters;providevictimsoftraffickingaccesstolegalcounseloftheirchoice;
allow victims of trafficking to work and
find new employment under clearly established procedures; enable non-governmental organizations to own
and operate shelters for trafficking victims; and
(b) waiveanyfeesassociatedwiththerequiredpassprovidedthroughtheLabour Department for foreign workers who are involved in an investigation of
violations of labour law (other than
forced labour covered above) to remain
in Malaysia and seek alternative
employment.
Foreign worker housing and freedom of movement
4. Malaysia shall:
(a) amend the implementing regulations to Act 446 to require
that private employers orrecruitmentagenciesthatprovidehousingforforeignworkersprovide notice informing
workers, in a language that they understand, of their right to freedom of movement
under Malaysian law and information on
how to report violations of this right.Privateemployerswithmorethan10foreign workersandrecruitmentagenciesshallalsoberequiredtopostthenoticeontheirpremisesvisibletoworkers;
and
(b) amend the implementing regulations to Act 446 to require that private
employers orrecruitmentagencies,whichprovidehousingforforeignworkersprovidea notice, in a language the
workers understand, informing those
workers of their right to acceptable housing conditions under this Act and
information on how to report violations of their right to acceptable housing conditions.Private employers with morethan10foreignworkersandrecruitmentagenciesshallalsoberequiredto post the notice on
their premises visible to workers.
C. Child Labour
The then BN government, failed to do the needed amendments after US dropped out of the TPPA ...We hoped that the Pakatan Harapan Plus government would have done the needful ...but they failed to do it speedily (i.e. if they planned to really do so...we will never know).
Then, now we have the PN-BN plus government - and looking at how Minister Saravanan and Minister Azmin Ali ...is responding, it looks like this government also may not bring about the much needed labour reforms...
Interestingly, the Malaysian government response (or initial response) seems to be 'pro-business/employer' - They meet with the owners/employers - but interestingly the worker representation and trade unions are left out....Did MTUC come out on the Top Glove issue? ...well they seem to be 'silent' or maybe they are not getting needed media coverage...
Worker rights is a HUMAN RIGHT - should SUHAKAM do an inquiry and make needed legal and policy reforms?
Do we need a ROYAL COMMISSION OF INQUIRY? Mmmm ...anyway, even if there is a RCI, the Malaysian government keeps 'secret' the findings of the RCI --- what happened to disclosing the Wang Kelian RCI Report and Findings?
The government need to look at what TOP GLOVE is doing 'voluntarily' to eliminate 'forced labour' and make these into laws that need to be complied with by everyone...
PM and government must do needful to STOP embarrassing us in Malaysia - we are embarrassed when the US FINDS a Malaysian Company guilty of 'Forced Labour' - when our own HR Department and government failed to first discover this worker rights violations..
KLEPTOCRACY ...now, are we also going to become world leaders in 'FORCED LABOUR'?
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY U.S. Customs and Border Protection [CBP Dec. 21–08]
Notice of Finding That Certain Disposable Gloves Produced in Malaysia With the Use of Convict, Forced or Indentured Labor Are Being, or Are Likely To Be, Imported Into the United StatesAGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security.
ACTION: General notice of forced labor finding. SUMMARY: This document notifies the public that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), with the approval of the Secretary of Homeland Security, has determined that certain disposable gloves, have been mined, produced, or manufactured in Malaysia by Top Glove Corporation Bhd with the use of convict, forced or indentured labor, and are being, or are likely to be, imported into the United States.
DATES: This Finding applies to any merchandise described in Section II of this Notice that is imported on or after March 29, 2021. It also applies to merchandise which has already been imported and has not been released from CBP custody before March 29, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Juan M. Estrella, Chief, Operations Branch, Forced Labor Division, Trade Remedy Law Enforcement Directorate, Office of Trade, (202) 325–6087 or forcedlabor@cbp.dhs.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background Pursuant to section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1307), ‘‘[a]ll goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in any foreign country by convict labor or/and forced labor or/and indentured labor under penal sanctions shall not be entitled to entry at any of the ports of the United States, and the importation thereof is hereby prohibited.’’
Under this section, ‘‘forced labor’’ includes ‘‘all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty for its nonperformance and for which the worker does not offer himself voluntarily’’ and includes forced or indentured child labor. The CBP regulations promulgated under the authority of 19 U.S.C. 1307 are found at sections 12.42 through 12.45 of title 19, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) (19 CFR 12.42–12.45).
Among other things, these regulations allow any person outside of CBP to communicate his belief that a certain ‘‘class of merchandise . . . is being, or is likely to be, imported into the United States [in violation of 19 U.S.C. 1307].’’ 19 CFR 12.42(a), (b). Upon receiving such information, the Commissioner ‘‘will cause such investigation to be made as appears to be warranted by the circumstances . . . .’’ 19 CFR 12.42(d). CBP also has the authority to self- initiate an investigation. 19 CFR 12.42(a).
If the Commissioner of CBP finds that the information available ‘‘reasonably but not conclusively indicates that merchandise within the purview of section 307 is being, or is likely to be, imported,’’ the Commissioner will order port directors to ‘‘withhold release of any such merchandise pending [further] instructions.’’ 19 CFR 12.42(e).
After issuance of such a withhold release order, the covered merchandise will be detained by CBP for an admissibility determination, and will be excluded unless the importer demonstrates that the merchandise was not made using labor in violation of 19 U.S.C. 1307. 19 CFR 12.43–12.44. The importer may also export the merchandise.
19 CFR 12.44(a). These regulations also set forth the procedure for the Commissioner of CBP to issue a Finding when it is determined that the merchandise is subject to the provisions of 19 U.S.C. 1307. Pursuant to
19 CFR 12.42(f), if the Commissioner of CBP determines that merchandise within the purview of 19 U.S.C. 1307 is being, or is likely to be, imported into the United States, the Commissioner of CBP will, with the approval of the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), publish a Finding to that effect in the Customs Bulletin and in the Federal Register.1
Under the authority of 19 CFR 12.44(b), CBP may seize and forfeit imported merchandise covered by a Finding. On July 15, 2020, CBP issued a withhold release order on ‘‘disposable gloves’’ reasonably indicated to be manufactured by forced labor in Malaysia by Top Glove Corporation Bhd. Through its investigation, CBP has determined that there is sufficient information to support a Finding that Top Glove Corporation Bhd is manufacturing disposable gloves with forced labor and that such merchandise is likely being imported into the United States.
II. Finding
A. General Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1307 and 19 CFR 12.42(f), it is hereby determined that certain articles described in paragraph II.B., that are mined, produced, or manufactured in whole or in part with the use of convict, forced, or indentured labor by Top Glove Corporation Bhd in Malaysia, are being, or are likely to be, imported into the United States. Based upon this determination, the port director may seize the covered merchandise for violation of 19 U.S.C. 1307 and commence forfeiture proceedings pursuant to 19 CFR part 162, subpart E, unless the importer establishes by satisfactory evidence that the merchandise was not produced in any part with the use of prohibited labor specified in this Finding.
B. Articles and Entity Covered by This Finding This Finding covers disposable gloves classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings 3926.20.1020, 4015.11.0150, 4015.19.0510, 4015.19.0550, 4015.19.1010, 4015.19.1050, and 4015.19.5000, which are mined, produced or manufactured wholly or in part by Top Glove Corporation Bhd in Malaysia. The Secretary of Homeland Security has reviewed and approved this Finding.
Dated: March 23, 2021. Brenda B. Smith, Executive Assistant Commissioner, Office of Trade. [FR Doc. 2021–06393 Filed 3–26–21; 8:45 a
Forced labour claims against Top Glove baseless: Saravanan
21 Jul 2020 / 22:20 H.
Human
Resource Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan meets with representatives
from Top Glove and the Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association
at the Human Resources Ministry today. - Bernama
PUTRAJAYA:
Investigations by the Labour Department on rubber glove manufacturer,
Top Glove Corp Bhd, relating to claims that the company used forced
labour, was found to be baseless, said Human Resource Minister Datuk
Seri M. Saravanan.
Commenting on the detention order on Top Glove
products by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Saravanan said
it could affect the country’s credibility and image at the international
level, as well as influenced foreign investors’ confidence in the
country following the baseless allegation.
“It
is unfair and they should ask us for investigation, wait for the
report, and then they should decide otherwise,“ he told reporters after a
meeting with representatives from Top Glove and the Malaysian Rubber
Glove Manufacturers Association at the Human Resources Ministry here,
today.
It was reported that the detention order by CBP on rubber
glove exports to the US beginning July 15 was issued to two subsidiaries
of Top Glove, namely Top Glove Sdn Bhd and TG Medical Sdn Bhd due to
elements of forced labour.
Stressing
that the government would not compromise in the forced labour issue,
Saravanan said he will visit Top Glove as well as invite representatives
from the US to see for themselves to prove that the claims were
baseless.
“Top Glove will be my top priority as they are being
blamed or accused for no reason, so I will visit (Top Glove) and send
invitation to them (US representatives) through Wisma Putra,“ he added.
According
to Saravanan, before the detention order on Top Glove was announced, an
operation by task forces for the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and
Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 and the Recovery Movement Control
Order (MCO) was conducted at Top Glove’s headquarters in Meru, Klang on
July 13.
He said the investigations found that the company had
violated the standard operating procedures of the MCO, namely not
complying to social distancing in the work place and provision of
cramped housing quarters, wherein the company was compounded by the
Ministry of Housing and Local Government.
“However, there was no offence, and no elements of forced labour were detected,“ he said.
Meanwhile,
Top Glove managing director Datuk Lee Kim Meow said the company would
collate the evidence and present them to the CBP this week to deny the
claims and was confident the issue would be resolved as early as next
month.
He said the action by the CBP had caused its sales to drop by about 12.5 per cent.
He
said the rubber gloves that could not be exported to the US would be
exported to other countries including Canada, Australia and Europe. - Bernama - 21/7/2020, The Sun Daily
MITI to look into forced labour allegation against Top Glove
KUALA
LUMPUR (March 30): The Ministry of International Trade and Industry
(MITI) will look at the full report on the allegation by the United
States that Top Glove Corp Bhd had used forced labour in its disposable
glove production in Malaysia.
Its minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said MITI meanwhile, will
continue to facilitate the industry to understand the requirement of
Malaysia's export market and to resolve any trade and investment related
matters.
"We have not conducted any investigation yet and certainly we need to
look at the full report. The ministry is looking to the details and
certainly we will facilitate our industries.... 30/3/2021, Edge Markets
Import ban on Top Glove products tarnishes country's image, says Saravanan
BANTING
(March 30): The country’s image has been tarnished, following the issue
of Top Glove facing the latest import ban by the US Department of
Customs and Border Protection (US CBP) on all its disposable gloves,
said the Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan.
This follows US CBP, on Monday, directing personnel at its all ports
of entry to seize disposable gloves produced by Top Glove because the
company is believed to be using forced labour.
“If they are innocent, they should not be punished. Top Glove still has room to appeal to US CBP.
“I will not compromise with any party that abuses the workers,” he
told the media after attending a meeting with the Sime Darby Plantation
Bhd workers here today.
Human
Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan said the ministry was still
waiting for a full report on the allegations made against Top Glove,
which is the world's largest glove manufacturer. -NSTP/FARIZ ISWADI
ISMAIL
PETALING
JAYA: It is still too early for the government to come to a conclusion
on the allegations against Top Glove Corp Bhd, which has been slapped
with forced labour claims by a United States (US) authority.
Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan said the ministry
was still waiting for a full report on the allegations made against Top
Glove, which is the world's largest glove manufacturer.
However, he reiterated that the ministry would not
compromise with any quarters and that action would be taken against the
company should the allegation of abuse against its workers was found to
be true.
"It is a bit too early (for the ministry to decide if there was basis
in the allegations against the company). I was told that the
complainant was a non-governmental organisation, who came to this
country using a tourist visa and did some reporting.
"Hence, I need to check before the ministry can come into any
conclusion," he said when met at a Hi-Tea programme at Gurdwara Sahib
here today, which was held in conjunction with the Vaisakhi celebration
tomorrow.
Saravanan was asked on updates over the issue of Top Glove facing the
latest import ban by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on all
its disposable gloves.
The CBP had directed staff at all its ports of entry to seize
disposable gloves produced by Top Glove because the company is believed
to be using forced labour.
"As the minister for the Human Resources Ministry, I will
make sure the welfare of workers, irrespective of locals or foreigners
are well taken of. At the same time, Top Glove is also one of the major
companies that has brought revenue for the country.
"Having said that, I will not compromise (with anyone) when it comes to the welfare of employees," he said. - NST, 12/4/2021
US CBP seizes gloves en route to Kansas City under Top Glove forced labour findings
KUALA
LUMPUR (May 13): US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at
the Port of Kansas City, Missouri have seized a shipment of 4.68
million disposable latex gloves made by a subsidiary of Top Glove Corp
Bhd.
In a statement, the CBP said the estimated value of the Kansas City-bound shipment was US$690,000 (about RM2.85 million).
“Considering that this seizure took place in the heartland of
America, it goes to show that imports produced by forced labour affect
everyone nationwide,” said Port of Kansas City director Steven Ellis.
“The CBP will not tolerate forced labour in US supply chains.”
The shipment was seized following an inspection revealing that the
gloves were manufactured by an unnamed Top Glove subsidiary. This was
the second time this month that the US authorities confiscated the
group's disposable gloves over forced labour concerns.
On May 5, CBP personnel in Cleveland impounded a shipment of 3.97
million disposable nitrile gloves worth an estimated US$518,000 after
checks revealed that the goods were also made by the group.
The agency has instructed all disposable gloves made by Top Glove to
be seized from March 29 after it issued forced labour findings based on
evidence of multiple forced labour indicators in the group's production
process.
These included debt bondage, excessive overtime, abusive working and living conditions, and retention of identity documents.
However, last month, the group said it had resolved all 11
International Labour Organization (ILO) indicators of forced labour, and
stated its assurance to stakeholders of continued efforts to improve
the welfare of its employees.
The 11 ILO indicators are:
abuse of vulnerability
retention of identity documents
restriction of movement
excessive overtime
abusive working and living conditions
deception
isolation
debt bondage
withholding of wages
physical and sexual violence and
intimidation
On April 30, Top Glove said the CBP was reviewing its submissions of clarification of the resolution of the 11 indicators. - Edge Markets, 13/5/2021
After second US glove shipment seizure this month, Top Glove reaffirms commitment to resolving WRO
KUALA
LUMPUR (May 13): After a second shipment of disposable gloves was
seized by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) yesterday, Top
Glove Corp Bhd reiterated that it had submitted its remediation of all
11 forced labour indicators to the authority.
The remediation was verified by independent international consultant
Impactt Ltd in an April 22 report, said the glove maker in a statement
today.
The group said it is committed to working closely with the US CBP to
resolve the withhold release order (WRO), which is premised on forced
labour findings.
To recap, customs officials seized a shipment of 4.68 million
disposable latex gloves from the Port of Kansas City, Missouri after
discovering that they were made by a subsidiary of Top Glove.
In a statement, the CBP said the estimated value of the Kansas City-bound shipment was US$690,000 (about RM2.85 million).
The goods were seized in accordance with a March 29 order to impound
all gloves manufactured by Top Glove and its subsidiaries after the US
agency issued forced labour findings based on evidence of multiple
forced labour indicators in the group's production process. - Edge Market, 13/5/2021
A rally in Beirut commemorating the Balfour declaration in 1945 [Getty Images]
The Balfour Declaration set the stage for the full-scale ethnic cleansing that followed three decades later [Getty Images]
