Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng wants the federal government to respond urgently to a recent report funded by the US State Department which claimed that 28 percent of workers in Malaysia are forced labour.

Lim ( left ) urged the International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) and Human Resources Ministry to get their acts together and respond to the allegations of the Verite report, which puts Malaysia at risk of being placed on the US Labour Department’s watch list.

He claimed that there was a “perceived lack of coordination” between the two ministries in addressing this serious issue.

Lim said the allegations, which he understood to be “untrue and unverified”, must be addressed “seriously, cogently and quickly” as it has a negative impact, especially on the electronics and electrical (E&E) and manufacturing sectors in Penang.

“There is a ding-dong battle between Miti and the Human Resources Ministry with regard to the issue. Miti pushes it to the HR Ministry but it should be equally responsible as the matter involves the manufacturing sector.

“We hope they get their act together and submit a report to the US to rebut the allegations,” Lim said after attending Altera Corporation (M) Sdn Bhd’s Innovation Day in Bayan Lepas today.

“Why pass the buck to each other, both are in the same government,” he added.

However, Lim does not think that the allegations are true, adding that the “unverified and untruthful” allegations, especially on the E&E sector, will impact the industry negatively.

The Verite report’s conclusion was based on interviews with mostly foreign workers in the electronic sector in Malaysia.

The respondents were asked about their living conditions and claimed that their passports were withheld by their employers, which is a common practice in the country.

PKR Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin ( left ) has warned that if Malaysia is put on the watch list, investors and companies from the US might stop business ties with Malaysian companies in this sector.

This would come as a big blow to Malaysia as the E&E export sector is valued at RM236.8 billion, or 32.9 percent of overall exports for the country.

Penang contributes 50 percent to the industry, said Lim.

“It does not only affect the sector but the entire industry in the country. If indeed we are on the watch list, our products may face certain restrictions,” Lim said.

He added that the Penang government has no locus standi to respond to the allegations although the state’s investment agency, Penang Invest, has written a letter to the relevant authorities.

He added that the matter has to be addressed between governments, which means the US and Malaysia, and Penang’s input can be merely used as an observation and not key points in rebutting the claims in the report.