KUALA LUMPUR – Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan has hit back at parliamentary special select committee (PSSC) member and Tuaran MP Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau for accusing him of not showing up to a meeting on foreign labour issues, resulting in the meet being called off at the eleventh hour.
Speaking to the press today, Saravanan said he had received a meeting cancellation notice that was issued by Parliament.
“He must get his facts right! This is the problem. I received a letter from the Parliament that the meeting was cancelled,” he said after meeting the members of the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (NCCIM) at Wisma HRD Corp here today.
“He (Tangau) should have checked with me. What do you expect me to do there? Sit by myself?”
This came after Tangau said in a statement today that the proceedings had been postponed for the umpteenth time due to no-show by ministers who had been summoned as witnesses.
The PSSC on fundamental liberty and constitutional rights meeting was postponed at the request of its chairman and Beaufort MP Datuk Seri Azizah Mohd Dun as Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin and Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan were unable to present themselves.
Tangau said the proceeding had been postponed more than three times, causing delays in the presentation of a report to the Dewan Rakyat.
“The agenda for today’s meeting was to ask the ministers to explain why foreign workers coming to Malaysia have to pay their agent before they are considered for entry here,” he said, adding that labourers from Bangladesh had to fork out RM25,000 to their agents to work here.
“I am disappointed that the meeting had to be postponed at the last minute just because ministers who were invited failed to show up without a solid excuse,” he said as he had purchased a flight ticket and booked accommodations for his time here.
He added that since notice of the meeting had already been sent out on August 8, the ministers involved should have given priority to attending the proceedings as the invite had been issued by Parliament. – The Vibes, August 16, 2022
