AUGUST 3 — “Employers must not abuse their workers.”
This sounds as natural and obvious as “chicken rice should include chicken,” but this is not the case — it seems — for migrant workers.
The viral video of a Nepali security guard being beaten by his superior is a symptom of something far worse.
We’re around No. 4 in the world when it comes to migrant-worker population, but our six million-ish foreign workers are vulnerable to exploitation.
For white-collar folks like me, "exploitation" may simply mean being asked to conduct a workshop or write up a report that somebody else said she would.
But for the non-Malaysian factory/restaurant/car wash dude, the term could be tied to physical abuse, being forced to work overtime without extra pay.
Some companies also do not provide transport for these workers which means an hour-plus walk to get to work.
Throw in negative five-star working and living conditions and debt-bondage into the picture and something becomes clear: We have slaves working in Malaysia.
How ironic that we who may support the tearing down of statues of individuals who owned slaves nevertheless give our money to corporations who treat their workers in a way we’d never allow our loved ones to be treated (see Note 1).
Oh, there’s also "secondary" abuse, like when spoilt-brat Malaysians dump their sticky popcorn all over the cinema seats because after everyone leaves, the Bangladeshi worker will appear (seemingly from nowhere) to ensure the place is squeaky clean for the next viewing. (Speaking of which, I once spoke to a worker outside the cinema hall who was trying to contain his tears when sharing how he hadn’t seen his newborn daughter in more than a year. It hit me especially hard as I was carrying my six-month old son at the time.)
Also, in these pandemic times, it helps to remind ourselves that these workers are a key line of defense between us and the coronavirus, not just at the movies but practically everywhere Malaysians aren’t keen to get our hands soiled.
Malaysia’s 'hungry ghosts'
In every nation, there are groups which are excluded in order that social order can be sustained.
There is a political price some segments of the country must pay so everyone else can go about their ordinary lives.
In Malaysia, as in many other developing countries, these would include the poor, the indigenous peoples and the foreign workers.
People like the Bangladeshi man who cleans our cars, the Nepalis who guard our condominiums and the Indonesians who work on our construction sites are living on the margins of Malaysian society.
Since the Hungry Ghost festival is coming soon, we should note that these good people are already "ghosts": We see them but choose not to.
We walk past them but might as well be walking "through" them. We need them to do those tasks we’d rather not, but beyond that their existence means less to us than what’s for lunch.
We know little — and care less — about their families, their cultures, their struggles, their pain.
And when a lockdown happens and we need to cut costs, they will be the first to go. Thus, to abuse we can also add expendability.
By their stripes, we are kept healthy. They have taken up our pain and bore our suffering, but we leave them to their affliction and condemnation.
Furthermore, the migrant worker community is probably the most vulnerable to Covid-19 but good luck trying to get businesses to pay for their testing and treatment.
For all of our criticism of Singapore, their rigorous testing of their foreign workers is something clearly a developed nation does.
Honestly, for some Chinese, the spirits which come out around August and September are given more respect and attention than the foreigner who cleans our coffee mugs and worries if her salary can help feed her family in Sumatra.
The term "hungry ghosts" takes on new meaning here.
These people are largely invisible, kept out of sight, refused a social presence yet critical for the running of our nation. Malaysia needs them but excludes them.
Is there a way for our society as a whole to punish corporations which perpetuate such modern-day slavery? That is the question and the imperative.
* Note 1: Naomi Klein’s immortal No Logo (London: Picador, 1999) is a must-read here. You’ll never look at brands like Nike, Shell, McDonald’s, etc. the same way after you do.
**This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
