'Foreign workers with valid documents with employers won't be held'
Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has assured that the authorities will not detain migrant workers whose employers are holding their valid immigration documents.
“If arrests happen, it has nothing to do with those who have valid documents (which are in their employers’ possession).
Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has assured that the authorities will not detain migrant workers whose employers are holding their valid immigration documents.
“If arrests happen, it has nothing to do with those who have valid documents (which are in their employers’ possession).
“Those who were arrested are those who really do not have any documents,” Ismail said at his daily press conference today.
He was responding to a reporter’s question on whether employers are allowed to hold their foreign workers’ immigration documents and if not, whether the government will take action against these employers.
The senior minister acknowledged that employers are not supposed to hold their migrant workers’ documentation.
Despite that, he said, there are many employers who are not confident that their migrant workers will not run away.
As such, employers issue "i-cards" to their migrant workers instead, which works as a replacement for their immigration documentation, he said.
“So if they are stopped by the authorities, they can show this i-card to the authorities. So of course, they cannot be considered as undocumented migrants,” Ismail said.
On the other hand, he said employers who have confidence with their migrant workers would leave the documents with the workers.
So there would be no issue of authorities arresting migrant workers who possess valid travel documents, he said.
On a separate issue, Ismail said there is no need for the government to provide identifying wristbands or anything of the sort to undocumented migrants who have been screened and tested negative for Covid-19.
This is because, he said, after undocumented migrants have been screened and tested negative for Covid-19, they will be brought to the immigration depot.
“So it is okay for them not to wear any wristbands or to have a letter or anything,” he said.
For documented migrants who have been screened and tested negative, he said they will be issued a doctor’s letter to prove they have been tested negative for Covid-19.
However, Ismail said, the government has decided against issuing an identifying wristband to those who tested negative for Covid-19.
This is because an individual who has tested negative for Covid-19 may test positive again in the future, he said.
“Just because someone is negative after testing once, doesn’t mean they will be negative forever,” he said.
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