FORMER DAP stalwart Charles Santiago has urged the government to act on the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) call to promptly resolve issues surrounding the country’s controversial migrant worker management system, which has been operating without a finaliSed contract for the past six years.
PAC chairman Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin revealed that there has been no contract between Putrajaya and Bestinet Sdn Bhd for managing the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS), despite a letter of acceptance issued in January 2018 for its development.
The Masjid Tanah MP highlighted several weaknesses in the system, including functional overlaps, wastage of public funds and unauthorised approvals of employer applications, which are currently under police investigation.
Santiago, an advocate for migrant rights, expressed astonishment at this regulatory breach, especially considering the Cabinet’s recent agreement in principle to extend Bestinet’s services.
He emphasised the need for the government to develop and run its own system to replace the FWCMS, citing national security risks linked to migrant worker recruitment.
“What is the basis of this extension when there has been no contract? This has to be clarified,” Santiago stated. “Migrant worker management should not be privatised. It’s not clear why the government is not pursuing its own programme, and there needs to be an explanation for this.”
Bestinet’s previous six-year agreement with the Home Ministry to develop, supply, provide and maintain the FWCMS ended on May 31.
In August 2015, the then Barisan Nasional government approved the FWCMS’s development under the Home Ministry and the Human Resources Ministry’s Integrated Foreign Workers Management (ePPAx) system.
Mas Ermieyati noted that both systems were single-window concepts, leading to fund wastage due to overlapping functions.
During PAC proceedings, officials from both ministries indicated that migrant worker recruitment could be conducted without the FWCMS, either manually or through the ePPAx system.
Moreover, Mas Ermieyati also pointed out weaknesses in the FWCMS’s ID management, with two user IDs not belonging to any human resources ministry official and 24 unauthorised users approving employer applications. The police are investigating these issues.
She urged the Home Ministry and the Human Resources Ministry to collaborate on a strategic plan for migrant worker management, ensuring no more overlapping functions.
Meanwhile, independent migrant worker rights specialist Andy Hall welcomed PAC’s report, stating that the lack of a transparent migrant worker management system had exposed workers to risks such as forced labor and debt bondage due to unethical recruitment practices.
“The FCWMS system must be put out of action once and for all. It is clear that doing so is in the best interest of Malaysia’s security and economy,” berated the London-born labour activist who is a vocal critic of Malaysia’s poor treatment of its foreign workers. – July 4, 2024
