SPECIAL REPORT | Nestled inside the sprawling workers' hostel is a canteen. The food is far from cheap. A plate of rice with meat can cost between RM8 and RM10, whereas fruits are sold at RM2 per piece and a glass of herbal tea can be as much as RM5.

For the migrant workers, who have not been paid their salaries and are forced to sustain themselves on the pocket money ranging between RM300 and RM600, these prices are nothing short of exorbitant.

The canteen operator, who wished to be identified only as Mah, is aware of their plight.

“Pity them, some of them have no money to buy food," Mah told Malaysiakini during a visit to the site recently.

Mah, whose canteen rental is more than RM10,000 per month, claimed that some 20 to 30 workers would leave the hostel, which houses those working on the Forest City project, on a daily basis.

“Both my friend and I will take them to the airport for a fee of RM60 or RM80," he said, referring to the international airport in Senai, which is located some 40km from the hostel.

Mah was talking about Chinese nationals who had just arrived on social visit passes returning home after hearing about the exploitation as well as those who, after working for a period of time, decided to pack their bags and leave.

The canteen operator suspects that some individuals hired by the sub-contractors are in cahoots with shady agents in China, luring nationals there to the Forest City project with the promise of lucrative salaries...