Malaysia will not be affected by decision to ban workers: Minister

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia remains unfazed over the decision by Myanmar to stop sending its workers to Malaysia, with a deputy minister saying locals or other foreign workers can fill the vacuum, while employers said the move will not disrupt their operations.

Malaysian Deputy Human Resources Minister Ismail Abdul Muttalib said locals will be encouraged to take up vacancies that arise from the ban. “That is why we have programmes tailored to recruit local workers,” The Star Online quoted him saying. However, Mr Ismail did not elaborate on the programmes.

Alternatively, employers could look for workers from 14 other countries, including Indonesia and Bangladesh, added Mr Ismail.

Myanmar on Tuesday announced it has stopped issuing new permits for its nationals to work in Malaysia as relations sour over an ongoing military crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in north-western Rakhine state.

Mr Myat Thu, a member of the Myanmar Overseas Employment Agencies Federation’s central executive committee, believed the freeze was a response from his government following actions by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak over the weekend.

Mr Najib led a protest on Sunday against what he called a “genocide” of the Rohingyas, as he urged Asian neighbours and the world to step up the pressure to stop the violence.

At least 86 people have been killed and about 30,000 displaced in the military crackdown, launched after attacks on police posts near the Bangladesh border on Oct 9 in which nine policemen were killed.

The Myanmar government and military have denied accusations that the operation has caused violence, saying troops are defending the country from an armed insurgency.

Myanmar on Tuesday also summoned Malaysia’s ambassador to object to Kuala Lumpur’s use of certain words to describe the crackdown.

Despite reports of a ban, Malaysia said to date, it has not received any official notification from Myanmar.

Malaysian employers too remained unfazed over Myanmar’s move to suspend sending workers to Malaysia, with the Malaysian Employers’ Federation (MEF) saying the nation is not dependent on Myanmar national workers as their numbers are “small and insignificant”.

According to MEF, there are 141,858 workers from Myanmar in the country with 71 per cent working in the manufacturing sector.

The Malaysian Trades Union Congress acting president Abdullah Sani supported stronger measures against Myanmar as a form of protest against the ongoing crackdown, including sending all existing workers from Myanmar back to “teach the Myanmar government a lesson”.

With uncertainty hovering over the situation, Myanmar Rohingyas Human Rights Organisation Malaysia president Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani said his countrymen who are currently in Malaysia should return to Myanmar.

“I’m saying this because the Myanmar government has proudly announced they have achieved democracy,” he said.

“If they are so proud of this, it is time for them to care for their own people instead of leaving us out there as refugees. Why are Myanmar nationals still suffering there ... being oppressed by their own government?” AGENCIES