Abuse of foreign workers in Malaysia: A neverending horror?
The sad state of foreign workers in Malaysia. What are the authorities’ actions? The worker has returned to his home country, but the perpetrator is still free, without any form of action. Why? Because, the perpetrator is influential and rich?
It has been over a decade since the case of domestic worker, Indonesian citizen Nirmala Bonat was brought to court and the culprit was sentenced, but the case of foreign workers being abused by employers seems to be endless in Malaysia.
The case of Komariya Isti’s wife, Mey Sichan, who was killed by the employer, is still fresh in our memory, when it comes to foreign workers’ abuse cases.
In 2018, the case of Adelina Lisao who died, after being badly abused, who was also forced to sleep with a dog in Bukit Mertajam, shocked the nation.
However, the case against his employer was dropped last year. The public prosecutor had stated that an appeal will be filed but we are not aware of any further developments of the case.
Yesterday, I was shocked to see a news report on the Indian news website, The New Indian Express, which reported a case of a foreign worker being abused in Malaysia. (https://www.newindianexpress.com/…/tortured-pallippad-nativ…)
The worker’s name is Haridasan. He is now back in India after the Indian High Commission in Malaysia intervened and rescued him.
While scouting for information, I found out that Haridasan’s case has gone viral on social media for the past few days. When I contacted the Indian High Commission in Malaysia, they confirmed that Haridasan had already been deported back to his country of origin.
The images and videos showing the injuries suffered by Haridasan are still being shared on social media, and I must admit, the injuries were so severe that I could not look further. Looking at the images, I wonder whether the culprit is a human or beast. A humane person would not commit such cruelty to other human beings or even to animals.
Haridasan, a worker from Pallipad, Kerala, came to Malaysia four years ago to work as a hairdresser in a barber shop in Penang. He was allegedly abused by his employer severely and his wages were not paid for seven months.
He also received no medical treatment for his injuries and was confined in a room for days. His distressed friends sent back pictures of his injuries to his family in India and his wife duly lodged a police report, and appealed for the Indian government to intervene.
Although Haridasan was eventually rescued and sent back to his home country, no action was taken against the perpetrator. I was reliably informed that the employer is an influential entrepreneur in Penang.
In addition to hairdressing shops, the entrepreneur also owns a network of jewellery and grocery stores in Penang.
In fact, many people in Penang know the man, who is notorious for his abuse of foreign workers. What amazes me is, why is he still free from any legal action?
Is the businessperson that influential that he or she could escape punishment? And what are the police doing about this? Who is protecting this criminal?
Worse, the police are investigating the case but not on the abuse. They are actually investigating on who made the images and videos viral on the social media!
Basically, the police are trying to nab the messenger, not the culprit.
So will the police act against the entrepreneur of just close the case? Will foreign workers in Malaysia continue to suffer at the hands of sick-minded employers? I hope the relevant authorities will just do their job and throw the book at the culprit.
And please save other foreign workers who are still suffering in silence.
Satees Muniandy is the Bagan Dalam state assemblyman
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of The Leaders Online.
