JUNE 19 — It is encouraging to see Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announce a revamp of our immigration. Immigration reform has been neglected to the point we now have an "immigration industrial complex”: a web of networks and contracts through which government and private contractors maintain a flow of migrants in and out of Malaysia, legality aside, in the interest of big money.

In his pursuit for reform, I hope that our Minister will address the following:

1. Tackle human trafficking and corruption within

The breakdown in our immigration system is demonstrated by the Wang Kelian mass graves scandal. In 2015, 139 graves were discovered in the Perlis border town. NST’s exposé reported that syndicates were "believed to be working closely in running a lucrative, illicit business virtually unmolested, and fuelled by demand for illegal labour from as far away as Pahang and Johor”. Besides being a horrific breach of human rights, Wang Kelian highlights a vulnerability in national security.

Outrage was immediate but faded quickly. The lone voices still championing Wang Kelian are columnist Commander (Rtd.) S. Thayaparan and Steven Sim, my DAP colleague and MP for Bukit Mertajam.

Frustrated by the lack of voices on this issue, I organised a forum in Petaling Jaya titled "Tragedi Wang Kelian: NerakaCiptaanKorupsi” ("Wang Kelian Tragedy: Hell Borne of Corruption”). Panellists included ArulldassSinnappan, the journalist who first broke the story; ZulhanisZainol, secretary-general of the Islamic NGO MAPIM; and Sim.

Combining the panellists’ breadth of perspectives (investigative, humanitarian and legislative) in a way that mapped the scandal from discovery to present-day, in the same room, was sobering.

2. Review Immigration Dept. contracts

During the forum, Steven Sim spoke on the 2015 Auditor-General’s Report disclosure that Immigration had awarded contracts to private contractors, worth hundreds of millions with annual payments, without open tender.

The same Report also includes: MyEG’s illegal approval of almost 9,000 foreigners in 2013 and 2014 through an automatic renewal process which violated SOP and the Immigration Regulations 1963; and a RM10.3 million payment for the myIMMS’ biometric system which was installed but not used at our checkpoints. Yet in late-2017, its contractor HeiTechPaduBhd secured a further 3-year RM42.43 million contract to maintain myIMMs till 2020! Around the same period, PrestariangBhd also entered into a RM3.5 billion, 15-year concession agreement with the Home Ministry to implement an integrated core immigration system (SKIN).

This is just the tip of the iceberg.

3. Transfer the handling of migrant labour to the Human Resource (HR) Ministry

Under BarisanNasional, the Home Ministry eagerly assumed lead gatekeeper role in handling migrant labour.

Under PakatanHarapan, a good start has been made: termination of controversial contracts with the 3 companies managing rehiring of undocumented foreign workers. All 3 companies have been reported as having direct ties to Umno.

The influx of migrant workers under BN’s watch has caused distortions in the economy. Bank Negara’s 2017 Annual Report found that four out of five jobs created in 2016 went to foreign workers, even as graduate unemployment sharply increased from 2011. Of the jobs created, the number of low-skilled jobs doubled from 8% (2002-2010) to 16% (2011-2017). Meanwhile, the number of high-skilled jobs shrank to 37%, from 45%.

It is easy to blame migrant workers for "taking jobs from Malaysians” and causing societal ills. However, when we talk about tackling unemployment, we need to examine our migrant labour system comprehensively. Let’s re-examine the jurisdictions of the Home and HR Ministries, let’s take apart the web of middlemen and unscrupulous agents.

Let’s also talk about migrant worker abuse. In 2017, 2 cases stood out: Adelina Lisao and SuyantiSutrinso. 26-year-old Adelina was rescued from her employer’s house in Bukit Mertajam after reports that she was abused and forced to sleep outside with the family dog. She had severe injuries on her head and face, and infected wounds on her limbs. The next day, Lisao passed away at the Seberang Jaya Hospital after suffering multiple organ failure.

In Petaling Jaya, SuyantiSutrinso suffered injustice not only by her employer’s hands, but the courts’. Her employer, a DatinRozita Mohamad Ali, had beaten her so badly that she had injuries in her eyes, hands, legs and internal organs, a blood clot under the skin on her head, bleeding spots in front of her brain, and a broken cheekbone, jaw and left shoulder.

The Sessions Court first ordered her employer to be placed on a 5-year good behaviour bond. Following widespread outrage, the sentence was revised to 8 years’ jail. Suyanti was only 19 at the time of abuse.

Conclusion

The immigration industrial complex is a difficult one to untangle and reform. Even after organising the Wang Kelian forum and reading up to write this piece, I still find its scale and depth daunting.

But as they say, sunlight is the best disinfectant. A significant first step would be to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on immigration reform. A thoroughly reformed immigration system would help Malaysia address our security needs, reduce abuses, and improve human resource management even as this new government embarks on improving our economy.