Kabir Humayun: Malay-sia was set to launch a major crackdown on undocumented migrant workers after the end of a scheme yesterday.
It allowed them to turn themselves in, but critics say human trafficking victims could be wrongly targeted instead, reports Reuters.
The Southeast Asian nation relies heavily on foreign domestic helpers as well as labourers from countries like Indonesia, Bangladesh and Nepal for jobs.
Many workers were duped by traffickers into coming to Malaysia, where they were not given legal work documents, and often forked out huge sums in return for jobs that paid much less than they were promised, said Advocacy groups. Aegile Fernandez, director of the Kuala Lumpur-based migrant rights group Tenaganita said, ‘The government is not recognising them as victims but sees them as illegals – this is wrong.’