Saravanan invites DAP duo for 'special briefing' on migrant workers issue

Human Resource Minister M Saravanan has invited DAP chairperson Lim Guan Eng and Beruas MP Ngeh Koo Ham for a special briefing at his ministry following the duo's claims surrounding a shortage of migrant workers in Malaysia.

He said an invitation for the briefing to be held at his office in Putrajaya on Oct 5 has been sent to both leaders.

"I am inviting Lim to attend this special briefing and bring along with him evidence to show the ministry's weaknesses.

"Don't come and make a political drama. Please bring evidence to show my mistakes and the ministry's," said Saravanan (above) during a press conference at Wisma HRD Corp, Kuala Lumpur, today.

"Every time the general election nears, he (Lim) will start (his) drama. He should focus on his court case.

“I believe Lim is trying to divert public attention from his court case," Saravanan claimed.

Previously, Lim had criticised Saravanan over the ongoing shortage of migrant workers in the country.

In response, Saravanan dared Lim to resign as DAP chairperson if the Bagan MP could not furnish evidence of any wrongdoing in the government's handling of the migrant workers’ shortage issue.

The Tapah MP also declared his own readiness to resign should Lim be able to find his faults.

Following that, on Sept 16, Lim accepted Saravanan's challenge and requested the minister to set a date so he can present a list of weaknesses in connection with delays in approvals to hire migrant workers.

Harapan at fault too

In turn, Saravanan also blamed Pakatan Harapan for their policies that led to the current problem.

"The Harapan government's policy to impose a moratorium on recruitment of Bangladeshi workers was a main reason.

“In the 22 months they were in power, they did not allow Bangladeshi workers to enter the country.

"After I took over, the country was hit by Covid-19. International borders only reopened in April this year and to date, we have settled all aspects of the new memorandum of understanding," he said.

"Recruitment from all source countries have been reopened and quota approvals were expedited.

"What more must a minister do? Steer a ship to bring in workers?” he asked sarcastically.

Bilateral negotiations with Bangladesh, which started in 2019 during Harapan's 22-month tenure, were hit with multiple delays, before eventually concluding with a new memorandum signed between Saravanan and Bangladesh Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad last December.

However, it took another eight months for the first batch of 53 Bangladeshi workers to arrive in Kuala Lumpur earlier last month, from thousands of quota approvals that also included Indonesian workers.

Aside from Lim, Saravanan also targeted Ngeh, whom he accused of raising complaints for personal gains.

"He's asking for his company, not the people. I can print all the documents on what he requested from us (ministry).

"All are personal requests, but Ngeh is creating drama as if he's asking for the people.

“He's asking for his company, but I don't know if it’s personally for him or if he is an agent," alleged Saravanan.

The minister also said he would be revealing all of Ngeh's requests at the Oct 5 briefing session.

Contacted for comments, Ngeh told Malaysiakini he would be attending the briefing.

At the same time, Ngeh demanded Saravanan retract his accusation or risk a defamation suit, as he insisted the requests represented complaints received from employers and industry players.

"I told the minister that the complaints are true and that I am a witness because a company where I have shares also facing the same problem.

"The complaint about the difficulty in getting foreign workers quota is widespread.

"It is defamatory for the minister to twist this issue to say I bring up this matter for personal interest.

"I demand he retracts the statement and I reserve the right to sue him for defaming me," Ngeh said.

On Lim's claims that so far only 12 percent of workers have entered Malaysia from a total of 350,000 approvals, Saravanan said the statement shows a failure in understanding his ministry's role.

"My response would be, you don't understand the ministry's role in foreign workers’ recruitment.

"My job is to approve quotas. After that, I need to take care of their welfare while they are here," he said.

"That is the ministry's role. The process between approval and arrival is not under my jurisdiction. If you don't understand my role, how can you evaluate my performance?

"I'm asking Lim, don't just make statements. Come to the briefing and prove where the ministry has gone wrong," he stressed.

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