PETALING JAYA: Pengerang MP Azalina Othman Said has called for an immediate investigation into the syndicate responsible for duping 171 Bangladeshis into coming to Malaysia for jobs that did not exist.
Describing the incident in her constituency as “only the tip of the iceberg”, Azalina said the companies involved must be held accountable and investigated to determine how legitimate migrant workers have been exploited with false promises of work in Malaysia.
“These are crimes against humanity. We must not tolerate violations of human rights including in the business sector. It is time to take firm action against irresponsible businesses,” she said in an X (formerly Twitter) posting.
Azalina, who is the law and institutional reform minister, also thanked human resources minister Steven Sim for extending assistance to the deceived migrant workers.
Her call comes after police yesterday arrested 171 Bangladeshis seen marching together in Pengerang, Johor, in a video that went viral.
Kota Tinggi police chief Hussin Zamora said the Bangladeshis were marching towards the Bayu Damai police station to file a report on Wednesday because they claimed that their agents failed to provide them with jobs as promised.
Although the case fell outside of the human resources ministry’s jurisdiction, its minister Sim told FMT that “we will aid the Bangladeshis on humanitarian grounds”.
Sim said his ministry would summon the employers mentioned in the foreigners’ document and the agents involved to assist them in the investigation later this week.
He also revealed plans to meet with home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail to discuss policy improvements related to migrant workers.
