KUALA LUMPUR (July 6): Malaysia on Monday announced plans to establish a transit centre to temporarily house newly arrived foreign workers as part of efforts to curb exploitation in the system.
Under the proposal, labourers who just landed will be temporarily accommodated at the transit centre while awaiting collection by their respective employers, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri R Ramanan said at a press conference on Monday.
The initiative is aimed at ensuring foreign workers are matched with the employers who applied for them, while preventing cases of workers being diverted after arrival, he said, noting that the move could also help ease congestion at airports.
WATCH: Foreign workers transit centre in the works
“We want to ensure that employers who apply are the same employers who receive the workers,” he said. “We do not want a situation where, upon arrival at the airport, a worker is supposed to go to employer A but ends up with employer B or C, or is left roaming around.”
Recruitment and processing of foreign workers in Malaysia has come under scrutiny amid persistent allegations that the system facilitates exploitation, particularly involving workers from poorer nations like Bangladesh, which leaves them trapped in debt.
At the centre of the controversy is the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS), developed by Bestinet Sdn Bhd, a company founded by Datuk Seri Aminul Islam. Both Bestinet and Aminul have consistently denied the allegations.
Ramanan said the ministry is taking necessary steps to address the issue, with the proposed transit centre currently at the planning stage.
He said discussions are underway between the ministry’s secretary general and deputy secretary general, along with the newly established Foreign Worker Management Division, to identify a suitable location for the facility.
“There may be a temporary facility first, but we have been instructed to establish a proper foreign worker transit centre,” Ramanan said.
Based on preliminary estimates, he said the temporary facility may need to accommodate between 1,000 and 2,000 foreign workers at any one time. However, he stressed that the facility would not function as a detention centre or permanent accommodation.