Foreign workers' plight exposes M'sia's underbelly

comments     Fred Rosen     Published     Updated

COMMENT Aung (no names in this piece are actual names) is from Myanmar. He is ethnically Burmese and has been in Malaysia with his wife for over a year now.

His contract runs for three years. They owe their employer money, as he paid all the agents' fees. The employer also holds their passports.

In case they want to have their passports, they have to pay back their boss. However, it is a good deal of money - more than RM2,000 or well over two months' worth of salary. They have a son back home who they support, in addition to a couple of adults.

Aung complains to me about the long hours - he works in a very busy, well-known tourist venue in Malacca. He sometimes starts at 8am and works until 1am. As usual, there are not enough staff...

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