KUALA LUMPUR – After hundreds of Nepali citizens shared shocking accounts of being stranded in Malaysia and not being given any work – despite already securing employment and immigration documents beforehand – the government has been urged to look into mechanisms to prevent such cases from recurring.
Malaysia-Nepal Business Council chairman Datuk Pardip Kumar Kukreja said workers who have been in limbo soon after arriving in the country in January are still waiting to start their jobs.
Speaking to The Vibes, he said the situation suggests that there are issues with the process of bringing in migrant workers to this country.
“Clearly, (the employers) have obtained a quota from the government to bring in these 300 workers.
“But they seem to have brought (the workers) in without any available jobs.
“This is a structural problem that must be resolved,” said Pardip, who is also a humanitarian activist.
He mentioned that having 300 Nepali workers stranded in the country because their employer reportedly failed to provide jobs as promised would only tarnish Malaysia’s image in terms of labour treatment and human rights.
He urged the Home Ministry and Human Resources Ministry to look into the matter and implement systems to ensure employers can deliver the jobs they promised.
“Each worker spent up to 300,000 Nepali rupees (RM10,296) to come to Malaysia to work.
“RM10,296 is a large amount of money and it would take at least a year for these workers to recoup,” he said.
Pardip recently led a team of activists to visit the workers at a hostel where they are staying in Nilai, Negri Sembilan, to hand out rations as aid.
He also spent time listening to the workers who shared their predicament and bitter experiences.
“We are in distress being away from our families in a foreign country. We feel misled and confused. None of us have much money as we already invested a lot just to come here,” one worker had said to The Vibes.
So far, Pardip explained, following the involvement of the Nepal embassy and the Manpower Department, the stranded workers have received two months’ salary with one month’s wages still pending.
The 300 Nepali workers were promised cleaning jobs by a company named Star Domain Resources Sdn Bhd with a salary of RM1,500 per month.
However, upon landing in Malaysia, they failed to receive any work.
Yesterday, it was reported that according to one of the migrants who chose to remain anonymous, Malaysian authorities promised to find all workers jobs within two weeks – failing which, steps would be taken to assist them in returning to their home country.
Attempts were made to contact Star Domain Resources for comments, however, the company failed to provide a proper response. – The Vibes, May 18, 2023
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