LFL has described the arrest of 171 Bangladeshi workers in Johor as a breach of anti-trafficking laws. The workers were reportedly marching to a police station to make a report when they were detained by police. LFL director Zaid Malek stated that despite the migrants legally entering the country and attempting to lodge a police report, they were arrested for potentially overstaying their visas.
Zaid Malek argued that the migrants were deceived by unscrupulous agents who left them stranded in Malaysia without the promised jobs. He emphasized that if the migrants did overstay, it was a result of the agents’ intent to exploit them. According to LFL, the migrants should be classified as victims under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 (Atipsom).
As victims of trafficking, LFL urged that the migrants should not be detained in Immigration depots or charged for offences. Zaid Malek also mentioned that they should have been brought before a magistrate within 24 hours of their arrest to be given an interim protection order and placed in a designated place of refuge in accordance with Section 44 of Atipsom.
LFL called on the government to ensure the immediate release of the detained workers and urged the suspension of any investigation into overstaying under the Immigration Act. The organization emphasized the need for the government to crackdown on dubious recruiters to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
