YOURSAY | Everybody and anybody involved in corruption needs to be lubricated.

Nurul Izzah: Reassess 'overly complex' migrant recruitment systems

OrangePanther1466: It is refreshing to hear from PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar, who is out of hibernation.

The subject matter she has chosen to champion is most appropriate, as any layman can see, the system has been severely abused by the greedy rent seekers, and there are hordes of them.

A simple matter of a foreigner seeking employment with a Malaysian employer who is happy to engage that person has gotten so complicated, involving multiple hands seeking "facilitation" payments.

In the end, the poor foreign worker ended up in debt just to be employed in Malaysia, where probably the first six months of his salary will be used to settle his employment debts. This "debt bondage" is human trafficking, and the authorities should act accordingly.

However, there are too many vested interests involved and dismantling the cartel will require political will of steel (or titanium). Nevertheless, it has to be done.

I wish Nurul Izzah all the very best in her crusade against the migrant recruitment cartel.

Exile: Migrant labour has long underpinned regional economies, but the real issue today is the deepening vulnerability of workers due to more complex and often opaque systems of recruitment and employment.

Reform should begin with enabling freer movement within Asean, reducing reliance on exploitative intermediaries and giving workers direct access to employers.

This would increase transparency and bargaining power. At the same time, governments, unions, and employer groups must collaborate to establish and enforce a fair, regionally informed living wage that reflects the actual costs of living.

Protection should extend beyond wages: structured language and cultural orientation programmes can ease integration and reduce workplace misunderstandings.

Most importantly, migrant workers should not remain perpetually temporary.

Clear, attainable pathways to permanent residency and eventual citizenship would recognise their contributions and provide long-term security. Without these changes, economic growth will continue to rest on an unequal and unstable foundation.

Alamak negaraku: Singapore has an easier system as compared to us. You can get a worker approved within three days, based on my personal experience.

Over here, it is so complex with so many repetitive documents at every stage of processes, at least six, from applying quota to the collection of workers, you have to submit the same hard copies. Real waste of paper.

Now, apart from the Foreign Worker Centralised Management System (FWCMS), the government is considering another layer. We know it is to enrich certain cronies. Period.

GraySalmon8323: Just like layering for money laundering, rent seeking emulates similar principles.

To ensure chaos reigns, multiple government agencies are involved with often overlapping processes and procedures before the award of the negotiated contract under the Official Secrets Act contract to a private entity, which again has layered undisclosed beneficial owners.

The world has changed, but the Home Ministry is at a standstill, living in the dark ages of past decades.

With technology and online access, electronic know-your-customer (eKYC) recruitment of foreign labour must be a government-to-government initiative. There will be clear accountability and enforcement.

Clearly, this model only benefits the Treasury and rakyat and is a bane for loss of rent-seeking opportunities for the small group of families of the elite and political class.

How on earth will these power elites fund their opaque foundations?

BlueShark1548: Politicians and their friends have made billions from the sufferings of those who came to Malaysia to work.

Most had to borrow to pay agents/brokers' commission, thanks to Malaysia's policies.

Who in the government wants to review when they just joined the gravy train? Everyone in our corrupt system has benefited from our policies.

World Citizen: The migrant workers recruitment fiasco is an epitome of corruption in the country. Everybody and anybody involved needs to be lubricated.

The migrant workers and the employers are the victims of this "government-sanctioned" crooked foreign workers recruitment system.

The ministers, the government officials and the private contractors involved should be held accountable, and all of them should be ashamed of themselves and should be taken to task.

Nurul Izzah, you say the government needs "to walk the talk in its commitment to good governance". There is one small problem here. You, as the deputy president of the ruling party, are part of the government.

You should initiate the clean-up of this mess instead of just talking and "working behind the scenes". Let's see if you can do it instead of just talking.

BlueCougar1744: Agreed. Nurul Izzah should stop the government from handing out the contract on a privatised basis to stop the rot of capitalising human labour that is turning it into a monster.

Immigrants to Malaysia as a workforce involves national security. The money received can be used to fund and upgrade the Immigration Department.

To award such, we are creating cartels, increasing the cost, which is not only harming the local industries but ultimately the cost will be borne by end users. Why must all money-making policies be privatised?

Stop all this nonsense, as Malaysia deserves better governance. This promotes corruption at all levels. Stop the rot now.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. In the past year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.