GEORGE TOWN – Malaysia’s policy on foreign worker housing does not permit local employers to house them in factory compounds, said the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers’ (FMM) northern chapter.
FMM northern region chapter chairman Datuk Jimmy Ong told The Vibes that it is illegal to construct staff quarters on factory premises, unlike in Thailand and Vietnam, which have confined suspected Covid-19 carriers to factory sites in a bid to contain the outbreak.
But in Penang, there are efforts to construct quarters for foreign workers on factory premises as in the case of one factory in the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone, which is seeking to convert a warehouse to worker accommodation.
“The law does not allow workers to stay within the boundaries of a factory. However, we have received a request from one factory to do so as a temporary measure.
“It will ease the control of the foreign workers’ movement.
“We have yet to get approval from the local council regarding this request.”
He said it is common in China for worker dormitories to be in the same compound as the factory.
Even so, space and safety concerns are two reasons why it cannot be done in Malaysia, except for Bukit Minyak Industrial Park, where the state has allowed the building of worker dormitories in the industrial area.
Residential areas close to the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone house many foreign workers, and many Covid-19 cases have been reported in that locality, raising fears that Covid-19 has spread to the communities there.
There are 209 active cases in Mukim 13 in the northeast district and 404 active cases in Mukim 12, southwest district.
Today, the Aeon supermarket in Queensbay Mall, Mukim 12, had to be closed for sanitisation after a few of their workers tested positive for Covid-19.
A new cluster named Lorong Bakau was also identified after 50 people tested positive for Covid-19.
It is said to involve factory workers in the Seberang Prai Selatan district. – The Vibes, February 25, 2021
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