MALAYSIAN RESPONSE TO BANGLADESHI LABOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 000152

SIPDIS

FOR EAP/MTS, EAP/RSP AND G/TIP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/03/2019
TAGS: PHUM ELAB SOCI KTIP BG MY
SUBJECT: MALAYSIAN RESPONSE TO BANGLADESHI LABOR
TRAFFICKING CASE

REF: KUALA LUMPUR 102 - TIP REPORT

Classified By: Political Counselor Mark Clark for reasons 1.4 (b and d)
.

Summary and Comment
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1. (C) Malaysian media highlighted the plight of an
estimated 140 Bangladeshi workers, who may be victims of
trafficking in persons (TIP) for labor exploitation. Post
raised concerns with the police and the Human Resources
Ministry, but as of February 27 all suspected victims
remained under the control of the recruitment agency. Post
also alerted NGO Tenaganita and to the situation, and NGOs
have provided some assistance. The Human Resources Ministry
is investigating the matter as a labor dispute rather than as
a TIP case. A senior aide in the Human Resources Minister
told us the GOM, as in this case, was not yet prepared to
address the country's broader labor trafficking issues.


2. (SBU) Comment: The GOM has focused its anti-trafficking
efforts on sexual commercial exploitation during the initial
year of the new TIP law's implementation. With minor
exception, it has not yet tackled labor trafficking under the
TIP law. The GOM's current preferred method of dealing with
labor trafficking is by treating it as a labor dispute. In
our contact with Malaysian officials, Post continues to
highlight the need for the GOM to take appropriate law
enforcement action in this case and to address labor
trafficking under the TIP law. End Summary and Comment.

Article Exposes Labor Exploitation
--------------


3. (SBU) The Malaysian government used its labor law, rather
than its anti-TIP law, in reaction to a probably case of
labor trafficking involving 80-140 Bangladeshi workers. A
local daily newspaper, Malay Mail, first published an article
on February 13 exposing the conditions of the group of
Bangladeshi workers, who were locked in a two-room, 1,000
square foot shophouse. Some of the men were allegedly held
in the shophouse for two months or more. According to
report, Gateway Saujana Corporation, an outsourcing company,
collected from some of the workers 12,000 ringgit (about
3,335 USD) for the chance to work in Malaysia. The
recruiting company confiscated the workers' passports, held
them in locked and overcrowded quarters, and did not pay at
least 74 of the workers since their arrival in Malaysia. The
recruiting company allegedly uses the shophouse and other
unknown locations as human warehouses, deploying workers to
fill menial jobs as needed. Deputy Minister in the Prime
Minister's Department T. Murugiah with representatives from
the Public Complaints Bureau visited the shophouse after the
paper notified the Bureau of the situation.

NGO Provides Medical Assistance
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4. (SBU) A small medical team visited the Bangladeshi
workers on February 18. Lotus Planet, a local NGO that
provides food for the homeless, coordinated the visit. The
team found that some members of the Bangladeshi workers
suffered from skin rashes and other communicable diseases
from the close quarters and poor sanitary conditions. The
recruiting company transferred some workers to other unknown
locations shortly after the articles release. A journalist
accompanying the doctors said the remaining workers were
"cautious and refused to say anything." Post asked
representatives from Tenaganita, the leading NGO in Malaysia
combating TIP, to look into the case. After visiting the
Bangladeshi workers, Tenaganita representatives told Poloff
that about 80 workers remain in the shophouse. The
recruiting company moved the other workers to unknown
locations. Tenaganita reported a locked door, similar to
that of a jail cell, keeps the remaining group in the house.
NGO representatives passed food, water, and medicines through
the door's bars to the Bangladeshi workers. Poloffs remain
in regular contact with Tenaganita regarding the case.

A Labor Dispute, Not TIP
--------------


5. (C) Poloff contacted Superintendent of Police Mohamed
Nadzri, deputy of the Criminal Investigations Division, on
February 13 regarding the Bangladeshi workers. Poloff
highlighted the elements of the case indicating labor
trafficking and noted Post's interest in the case's outcome.
Nadzri was unaware of the situation, but said he would review

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the information. To date, we have not learned of any police
investigation into the matter. Malaysian officials have not
intervened to rescue the workers and they all remain under
the control of the recruiting agency as of February 27. On
February 17, Poloff met with P. Munusamy (protect),a senior
aide to the Minister of Human Resources, to relay our
concerns that the case involved labor trafficking. Munusamy
told Poloff the Ministry could not pursue the matter as a
trafficking case as TIP was under the jurisdiction of the
Home Ministry. He said the Human Resources Minister was very
concerned with the "plight and condition" of the workers and
raised the matter with the Home Ministry. Munusamy said he
would relay Post's concerns over the matter to the Human
Resources Minister. In a follow-up meeting on February 25,
Munusamy confided with Poloff that the Ministry did not want
to admit publicly that the case involved trafficking because
of the large number of victims, and the government was not
yet prepared to address the broader labor trafficking issues.



6. (U) Malaysian media reported that Ismail Abdul Rahim,
Director General of the Human Resources Ministry's Labor
Department referred the case to Malaysia's Labor Court to
pursue compensation for the wages due the workers. Ismail
said the company violated three sections of the Employment
Act of 1955. He said the company failed to notify the Labor
Department it used foreign workers for outsourcing, a
violation under Section 63A. Ismail also stated Gateway
Saujana Corporation violated Section 60K for failing to
notify the department it employed foreign labor. The company
also failed to get Labor Department approval payroll
deductions on levies from 78 Bangladeshi workers, violating
Section 24. The maximum penalty for the labor violations is
10,000 ringgit (approximately 2,780 USD) for each offense.

RAPSON