Allowing non-citizen spouses the right to work can strengthen Malaysia’s economy while protecting families of Malaysians — Family Frontiers

APRIL 30 — Love knows no boundaries or borders. However, what should be a pleasant experience (marriage) in one’s life, is ridden with challenges and hardship as a result of immigration policies that do not take into account family welfare and unity. 

This Labour Day, Family Frontiers, the umbrella body of Foreign Spouses Support Group (FSSG), would like to shed light on the precarious financial hardships that Malaysian binational families are subjected to as a result of restrictions placed on non-citizen spouses of Malaysians. As foreign spouses of Malaysians holding a spouse visa, their visas have the statement “prohibited from all forms of employment” stamped across their Long-Term Social Visit Pass (LTSVP), also referred to as a spouse visa. Upon seeing this statement, employers are reluctant to hire non-citizen spouses, albeit the Department of Immigration states that an endorsement to work can be obtained after having secured an offer from the employer. 

A survey conducted by Family Frontiers found that 75 per cent of non-citizen spouses possess a Bachelor’s degree or higher, yet 49 per cent of them remain unemployed. Despite being qualified on the same basis as their Malaysian spouses, their legal status comes in the way of them being employed and achieving economic liberty and autonomy — an essential component of family harmony in every home. 

Rozlan, a Malaysian man, met his foreign spouse Samia while studying for their Master’s in Finance at a Malaysian university. Soon after they graduated, Rozlan was able to secure a high paying job while Samia remained unemployed due to the restrictions imposed on her as a foreigner. She remained a disempowered woman without economic autonomy; her frustration with her unemployment status led this highly qualified couple to leave Malaysia and seek employment in a third country. (Not their real names) 

The endorsement to work is also highly restrictive whereby it is tied to the validity of the visa (which may require frequent renewals), restricted to one state within the country, and non-citizen spouses are unable to acquire professional licenses until Permanent Residence is obtained. 

Based on the lived realities gathered by Family Frontiers, it is evident that the lack of economic rights among spouses has a disproportionate impact on women. Women are made to wholly depend on their spouses — including them being at the mercy of their spouses for official permission to work and the inability for them to open individual bank accounts — which places them in situations of harm and violence. 

Based on the lived realities gathered by Family Frontiers, it is evident that the lack of economic rights among spouses has a disproportionate impact on women. — Picture by Saw Siow Feng

When foreign spouses are forced to seek employment overseas, this can lead to Malaysian women in binational marriages being left with only two options: to move overseas which further contributes to brain drain placing Malaysian women with a restricted choice of domicile, or separated from their foreign spouse which leads to the unequal burden of care. 

These economic inequalities affect actual lives and the safety and security of women and children in binational families; the repercussions of which have been greatly exacerbated during the pandemic, putting women in peak vulnerability and insecurity, including domestic violence. 

This Labour Day, we would like to call on the Government to: 

1. Allow non-citizen spouses the equal right to work by removing the statement of prohibition from employment on their spouse visas. 
2. Extend the protection of labour laws and social protection mechanisms such as mandatory EPF and Socso, and entitlement to the Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) and severance packages to spouses to ensure greater protection and economic stability for the Malaysian family as a whole. 
3. Allow foreign spouses to open individual bank accounts so they have greater financial autonomy and freedom. 

With over 200,000 Malaysian binational families living in Malaysia, it is time we treat these families with the dignity they deserve. By allowing non-citizen spouses to work without restrictions, the government will strengthen Malaysia’s economy, protect families of Malaysians and reverse the brain-drain of talented professionals. This would also improve Malaysia’s international and regional standing by progressing commitments to SDG 8: to promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.