Steven Sim has stated that the Human Resources ministry will summon the agency responsible for the recruitment of the 171 Bangladeshi workers who were detained on Dec 20. Investigations will be carried out on the agency which employed the workers, all of whom are currently held by the Immigration Department after walking to the Bayu Damai police station to report against their agent.
An online news portal quoted the Human Resources Minister saying on Monday (Dec 25) that stern action will be taken against those found guilty in this case. He also instructed his ministry to assist the workers in finding jobs on humanitarian grounds, despite this matter being beyond the purview of the Human Resources ministry.
Sim also announced plans to meet Home Minister Datuk Seri Saiffudin Nasution Ismail to discuss improving migrant policies. He emphasized that the hiring of workers should be done to support businesses and not as a stand-alone business itself.
Sim’s statement comes after Kota Tinggi OCPD Supt Hussin Zamora confirmed the arrests of the workers. Supt Hussin also reported that the workers were legally brought into Malaysia, but their agent failed to provide them with work.
“The Bangladeshi nationals decided to walk to the Bayu Damai police station, which was 10km from their accommodation, to lodge a police report on Dec 20,” he said. The workers were unable to lodge a police report after it was discovered that the agent had not found employment for them.
In a surprising turn of events, a police report made by the army against the foreigners was received on the same day (Dec 20). The Immigration Department then detained the workers for investigations under Section 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 at the department’s headquarters in Setia Tropika.
