A STUDY conducted by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore warns of an impending crisis for Malaysia and Thailand in particular, due to the larger numbers of migrant workers in these countries.
The study, which looked at Covid-19 and its impact, took note of the spike of Covid-19 cases among its foreign workers recently, and warned these countries to take another look.
“The spike in new infections of Covid-19 in Singapore, due to the large presence of foreign workers living in dormitories in the city state, is a wake-up call to other countries with a large migrant labour force. Singapore’s frank reporting of the virus spread among its foreign worker community has alerted neighbouring countries. In Malaysia, possibly even more reliant on foreign workers (legal or documented and illegal or undocumented) to do its manual and unpopular jobs, the situation can be precarious,” said the study.
According to the study, Singapore had moved aggressively on mass testing foreign workers, and this has pushed its case count up to the top of the infection tables in East and Southeast Asia. By the end of April, the total number of cases had reached over 16,000, with most of the cases foreign workers living in dormitories.
With Malaysia having about six million migrant workers, spread out among both the urban and plantation sectors, the situation in Singapore could well be a warning that Malaysia should heed with regard to the migrant worker population.
“Migrant workers basically serve the larger community, the elite and middle-class consumers of their host countries by taking up jobs in construction, essential services and plantations which locals avoid; especially at the prevailing wages. Ironically, it is the middle-class travellers and globe-trotting elites of their host countries who may have brought the virus into their ranks,” noted RSIS.
“Herein lies the core problem: while social distancing is more easily implemented in middle-class communities, such social distancing and even basic hygiene may not be so easily practised in the crammed dormitories, low-cost apartments and other poor facilities which house migrant workers,” it added.
According to the study, Singapore’s measures to contain the virus is premised on social distancing in worker dormitories. Those working in essential sectors have been separated from their mostly construction sector brethren into disused army camps and public housing flats earmarked for redevelopment.
For those in construction, they are housed in different locations through arrangements with their respective employers. News media reported two hostel ships, used by offshore workers in the oil and gas sector, were also deployed. The use of additional accommodation areas is apparently aimed at rapidly reducing the residential density of foreign worker dormitories.
The study raises the question of how Malaysia and Thailand have dealt with its migrant workers, which have not appeared much in statistics on the virus. RSIS warns that, if the problem is not properly addressed, the presence of the large migrant worker communities in Malaysia and Thailand could be “a time bomb for the virus to explode exponentially.”
With regard to Malaysia, the study also stated that the mass testing plan for higher risk populations in high-risk zones and the Enhanced Movement Control Orders are notable efforts, as is the provision of meals and additional support to affected workers during the Movement Control Order.
“So far, both Malaysia and Thailand have yet to reveal any clear plan of action regarding migrant workers. Merely going by the number of tests, both countries lag well behind Singapore at 20,815 per million. To date, Malaysia has conducted 4,701 per million and Thailand has recorded 2,551 per million, as of April 29,” said the study.
The study also noted that some Malaysian businesses have reported that the instinct of their foreign workers is to leave for home as they expect no support from their host countries following the economic shutdown. The Indonesian Foreign Ministry reported that over 34,000 of about two million Indonesian migrant workers in various sectors returned home after Malaysia set travel restrictions.
“Those in the rural sector may be better off as agrifood is an essential sector with ongoing operations, and residential densities are expected to be lower. For those sectors at a halt, a number of companies are delivering food supplies, and they are now eyeing the back-to-work rules including virus screening by the Social Security Organisation. But what about the millions of illegal/undocumented workers?” the study added.
Glorene Das, executive director of the Tenaganita women and labour rights organisation, had warned that a fresh wave of Covid-19 infections among migrant workers was “of grave concern” because there has been inadequate testing among Malaysia’s widely dispersed millions of migrant workers in urban and rural settings. – April 30, 2020
