Inmates at detention camps are beaten, sometimes with tubes aimed at their penises, to inflict maximum hurt with minimum visibility.

As migrant workers leave the country, their testimonies of life in Malaysia have begun to emerge, telling of Malaysian hostility rather than hospitality.

Hasan (not his real name) told us a little about life at the Semenyih immigration detention camp, in the first part of this series on migrants workers. His story is corroborated by a migrant workers rights group in Malaysia - Tenaganita.

Theyd kick us with booted feet, said Hasan. He was unwilling to share the nightmare that was his detention despite being prodded

Hence, Malaysians remain ignorant of what goes on in our own backyard. And lawyers and social workers remain confounded over the their limited or even no access to the detainees.

We know that the conditions are bad - based on testimonies by former detainees. The confinement space is crammed, and reeks of sweat and stink. Food is bad - fish and rice. They have only one change of clothes, said Tenaganita Migrant Desk Coordinator Aegile Fernandez.

And within the perimeter of the camps barb-wire fence ... theres rampant corruption, adds Fernandez ... it costs RM10 to RM15 for a two minute phone call.

(The detention camps in Malaysia are at Juru, Pulau Pinang; Langkap, Perak; Semenyih, Selangor; Kemayan, Pahang; Lenggang, Negeri Sembilan; Machap Umboo, Melaka; Pekan Nanas, Johor and a detainee holding centre in Kelantan.

At any give time the detention centres hold up to10,000 detainees. The number may be much higher given the regularity of raids on illegal workers conducted these days.

Price of defiance

If migrant workers are treated badly by Malaysians in general, worse is to be had in the detentions camps.

Defiance by inmates invites punishment ranging from beatings while being tied to a fence to the humiliating act of performing stand-ups while pinching the ears ( ketuk-ketampi ).

But if life in the camps is hellish, life working in Malaysia is no bed of roses either.

They remain here because they have no choice. Malaysians are not particularly benevolent.

Malaysians are greedy. They dont treat migrant worker as human beings, said Fernandez.

In a recent incident, an employer did not pay compensation to a Bangladeshi worker who was injured at the workplace and had to be sent home.

His work permit had expired and the employer had not renewed it. Tenaganita filed a complaint with the immigration department claiming unjust treatment. The department was only able to provide clearance for repatriation. Taking the errant employer to task was out of their jurisdiction.

When contacted by Tenaganita for clarification on the matter, the employer had repeatedly slammed the phone down on them. The Labour Department which falls under the Human Resouces Ministry will not deal with cases of undocumented or illegal workers, said Fernandez.

The errant employer got away scot-free. The migrant worker goes home crippled.

Yet another employer, a company producing television picture tubes in Shah Alam held back the wages for December and January for its migrant workers who wanted to return home to Bangladesh. The companys excuse is that they want the workers to obtain income tax clearance.

Tenaganitas contends the workers income-tax is already being deducted monthly from their wages, so why hold back their pay? And the immigration department concurs with Tenaganita.

Unpaid wages and non-renewal of work permits are merely the tip of the iceberg for abuse suffered by migrant workers, says Fernandez.

Migrant workers pay RM1,200 to have their work permits renewed every year. Employers normally deduct the sum out of their wages monthly. Sometimes a lump sum is deducted in advance which means the workers lose a months income).

Road to unemployment

Migrant workers may become illegal in many ways, one of which is when they are employed by subcontractors. When a particular project is finished, the subcontractor simply discards these workers as he would a cardboard carton.

Many migrant plantation workers have become illegals like this. There is no action taken against the subcontractors.

Whos then responsible for the laid-off migrant worker, asks Fernandez.

There are far too many migrant worker recruiting agencies operating in and out of the country, she says adding it is an urgent matter that needs some serious looking into.

Fernandez suggest the Singapore model as a an example to follow. In the island nation, migrant workers are allowed to apply for work permits without having to go through their employer.

This at least, puts a stop to the practice where employers hold back the workers passports. In Malaysia, although the Immigration Act does not allow employers to retain workers passports, many plainly ignore the law, says Fernandez.

The common excuse employers give is that the workers would run away. The media is also to blame for portraying migrant workers as whores, thieves and cheats, said Fernandez. Why dont we appreciate them as people, she asks.

There are many reasons for us to be grateful to the migrant worker community. They have built the world famous Petronas Twin Towers; the countrys administrative capital in Putrajaya; the KLIA terminal and the Formula One racing circuit, both in Sepang.

Malaysians dont even clean their public toilets themselves anymore, exclaims Fernandez.

Tenaganita asks for amnesty

For migrant workers who have had enough and want no more of life in this country, it is not that easy to leave either.

Illegal workers have to pay a RM3,000 compound. And it doesnt matter how the worker became illegal or undocumented - whether he ran away or was laid-off by his employer.

Fernandez says many want to go home but do not have the money to do so. The migrant workers are asking if the compound amount can be lowered or be done away with.

Fernandez says Tenaganita will mobilise its support network around the country to get illegal or undocumented migrant workers to come forward if the immigration department is able to compromise on the compound fee.

The immigration department may lose a lot money from the non-collection of this compound fee but then again they wont have to maintain the thousands of detainees in camps around the country. They wont need to deplete resources by conducting raid after raid. This is money saved.

If this can be done, we may have less trouble with illegal immigrants, says Fernandez. As for those without passports, the respective embassies may help process replacement documents, she adds. The workers then would only need air-tickets to fly home.

Tenaganita had asked the government for an amnesty period for illegal migrants. However, this was rejected by the government last year. And the RM3,000 compound fee for illegal immigrants still applies.

Syabas to the immigration authorities

In the event a migrant worker files a case in court - for example, against an employer for non-payment of wages or for abuse - he or she is given a special pass to legally stay in the country until the case is over. The pass is renewed every month. In the past, migrant workers paid RM100 each time they renewed this pass. The amount was reduced to RM20 last year.

Today, this special pass is given free of charge thanks to the cooperation of our immigration department.

Fernandez says that as migrant workers slowly begin to leave the country, they have a final request that those seeking redress from the courts be allowed to work legally. If not, it makes it difficult for these workers to survive for the remaining months they are in the country, she said.

Note: Names of workplaces have been held back. The stories and opinions contained here may not represent those of other Bangladeshis working or living in Malaysia