Make employers hire migrant workers through licensed agencies only to avoid abuse, says Papsma

PETALING JAYA: The government should make employers only deal with registered licensed private employment agencies (APS) to prevent migrant workers from being abused by unscrupulous parties, says the National Association of Private Employment Agencies Malaysia (Papsma).

Papsma president Datuk Kris Foo Yin Choo urged the government to emulate foreign countries that have done so.

“Malaysia may consider taking a cue from some of our neighbouring countries by making it mandatory for employers to engage with licensed APS that are registered with the Manpower Department for their recruitment needs.

“This move not only prevents employers and workers from potentially falling into the hands of unlicensed third parties but also puts a stop to unethical recruitment practices by illegal firms,” she said in a statement on Tuesday (Dec 26).

She added the terms “agents” and “agencies” have been misused and that legitimate APSs were often not properly distinguished from unlicensed firms, leading to illegal recruitment.

“APS in Malaysia are regulated by the Private Employment Agencies Act 1981 (Act 246), which requires any business undertaking recruiting activities to be licensed as an APS. Thus, it is imperative that employers be educated on the proper channels and means to determine the legality of the recruitment agencies that they engage with,” she said.

Recently, 171 migrant workers made the news after marching almost 10km to the Bayu Damai police station to lodge a report against their agent for failing to provide them with work for over three months.

However, the workers did not manage to lodge a police report after it was discovered that the agent had brought them into the country legally but had yet to find employment for them.

In a twist of events, a police report made by the army against the foreigners was received on the same day (Dec 20), which led to the foreigners, aged 19 to 43, being hauled up by the Immigration Department.

Human Resources Minister Steven Sim said that the employer involved in the recruitment of the 171 Bangladeshi workers detained since Dec 20 will be summoned by his ministry.

He said that further investigations would be conducted on the agency which employed the workers.

Sim then added that he had instructed his ministry to assist the workers to find jobs on humanitarian grounds.