 TRIANGLE in ASEAN Programme Quarterly Briefing Note 1

Malaysia

 TRIANGLE in ASEAN
Quarterly Briefing Note
Malaysia

January – June 2023

Key developments
In his first visit to Indonesian President Joko Widodo in January 2023, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim promised to prioritize
repairing the strained bilateral relations between Indonesia and Malaysia, particularly on issues of migrant workers. Prime
Minister Anwar stated he understood the difficulties experienced by Indonesian migrant workers when they are
incarcerated, as he had experienced living behind bars for years. He also expressed his sympathies for those who had
been whipped while in detention and called the practice inhumane. He vowed to push for greater efforts to protect the
rights of Indonesian migrant workers, including by ensuring labour supplier companies work properly and responsibly.

On 27 February, V. Sivakumar, Malaysia’s Human Resources Minister, called on all employers to respect the amended
Employment Act, which reduced working hours from 48 hours to 45 hours per week. The minister’s call came as the
Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) continued to receive complaints of employers not
complying with the amendments made to the Employment Act since its implementation on 1
January. The amended Employment Act has also increased maternity leave from 60 to 98 days and
paternity leave from three days to seven days.

In April, Asri Rahman, the Director-General of the Labour Department, the Ministry of Human
Resources (MOHR), confirmed that his department had launched an investigation into allegations
that hundreds of workers from Bangladesh and Nepal found themselves without jobs or salaries
after arriving in Malaysia, having paid up to 20,000 Malaysian Ringgit (US$ 4,500) to middlemen
to get employment; their passports had also been taken away by recruitment agents. The Minister
of Human Resources, V. Sivakumar, visited a group of 226 Bangladeshi and Nepali workers and described the
accommodation of the workers as “appalling”, also saying that the MOHR would find jobs for the migrant workers.

In his Labour Day 2023 speech, both Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Minister of Human Resources V. Sivakumar said
the government would prioritize the issue of minimum wage implementation. The Prime Minister also would discuss this
issue in the Cabinet meeting to get a definitive solution. He also affirmed that the time had come for the government to
re-evaluate and review the salaries of civil servants, especially of those in the lower grades.

On 4 June, the Minister of Human Resources V. Sivakumar stated that the Government was drafting a policy to provide
social security for gig economy workers involved in e-hailing services so that they would not be discriminated against.

Malaysia was upgraded from Tier 3 to Tier 2 Watchlist in the 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report. It concludes that “the
Government of Malaysia does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making
significant efforts to do so.”
 TRIANGLE in ASEAN Programme Quarterly Briefing Note 2
Malaysia

Main programme activities

On 14 June, the ILO and IOM co-hosted a workshop
Extending Social Security Coverage and Benefits to
Domestic Workers in Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia, and online. On the ILO side, the event was
jointly supported by TRIANGLE in ASEAN, Safe and
Fair and the ILO’s social protection team. The event
was attended by 129 participants (W:82; M:24,
unrecorded: 23), including 62 in-person and 67 online.
The participants included representatives of the
Social Security Organization (SOCSO).

The Foreign Workers’ Division, Policy and

June 14: ILO and IOM hosted a workshop Extending Social Security Coverage
International Affairs Unit, Strategy Section; Ministry of
and Benefits to Domestic Workers in Malaysia © ILO and IOM
Human Resources (MOHR) Policy Division Foreign
Workers Unit; several other government agencies; representatives of employers’ and workers’ organizations; recruitment
agency associations; embassies of Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka; civil society; and migrant worker associations
attended the event. A number of domestic workers also joined online. The workshop had two objectives: first, to promote
increasing domestic workers’ effective access to existing social security in Malaysia, especially advancing their SOCSO
enrolment; and second, discuss extending domestic workers' eligibility to more social security benefits and related
challenges and possibilities.

SOCSO is open to dialogue with various stakeholders to troubleshoot and find solutions to increase domestic workers’
SOCSO enrolment. For example, previous engagement between SOCSO domestic workers’ associations and recruitment
agencies resulted in SOCSO enabling a yearly advance payment of SOCSO contributions instead of monthly contributions.
SOCSO is also open to extending migrant domestic workers’ benefits under SOCSO. They have already submitted a
proposal to extend invalidity and survivor benefits to all migrant workers, including migrant domestic workers, to MOHR
for approval. SOCSO seems open to going much further, including extending maternity protection and unemployment
insurance to migrant workers but realizing these requires policy coordination with the Immigration Department which
currently deports migrant workers in case of pregnancy or job loss.

On 22-23 June, TRIANGLE staff participated in the Asia-Pacific Care Economy Forum: Convening the ecosystem of
entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers and other stakeholders to drive action for an inclusive care economy in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This was co-organized by UN Women and supported by the Australian Government’s Department
of Foreign Affairs and Trade. TRIANGLE staff shared the research report findings on domestic work and acted as a System-
Roundtable Leader on the breakout group considering ‘how to value and professionalize paid care work?’, presenting the
results in key recommendations at the close of the forum.

The launch of the TRIANGLE in ASEAN study Skilled to care, forced to work? Recognizing the skills profiles of migrant
domestic workers in ASEAN amid forced labour and exploitation on 15 June 2023 was widely noted in the Malaysian
media (see below). Prior to the report launch, on 21 March, TRIANGLE in ASEAN met the Malaysia Ministry of Human
Resources (MOHR) in a hybrid meeting session to discuss the Malaysia findings and policy recommendations from the
study. The meeting was attended by representatives of MOHR International Division, Policy Division, Labour Department,
Department of Manpower, Immigration Department and Council for Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of
Migrants (MAPO) as well as ILO colleagues from Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. TRIANGLE in ASEAN hopes to continue policy
dialogue on improving migrant domestic workers' labour protection in Malaysia after the launch.

The dissemination of SaverAsia was ongoing from January to June. During this time, SaverAsia has reached 1,108,077
persons through 120 individual posts and advertisements on its social media channels.
 TRIANGLE in ASEAN Programme Quarterly Briefing Note 3
Malaysia

On 15 March, TRIANGLE joined the bilateral meeting between the ILO and MOHR to review the progress of the ILO–
Malaysia Decent Work Country Programme 2019-2025. TRIANGLE in ASEAN shared key achievements and results in
Malaysia in 2022 and introduced its work plan for 2023. Priority was given to introducing the three-country domestic
worker study ‘Skilled to Care, Forced to Work’ and requesting an opportunity to discuss the findings with MOHR before
the report launch on 16 June. The MOHR expressed interest in discussing the study findings, but no date has been set.

 Upcoming activities and key dates (July – December 2023)

Date Event Location Attendees Purpose

National
September Tripartite
Review progress in implementing past AFML
Preparatory Online or in Tripartite partners and
recommendations and discuss the theme of
Workshop person civil society
the 16th AFML
for the 16th
AFML

 Media Coverage

Date Title Media Source

27 February Adhere to 45-hour workweek, employers in Malaysia told hrmasia
20 April Malaysia probes abuse of migrant workers Bangkok Post
1 May PM Anwar: Cabinet to discuss minimum wage implementation next Malay Mail
month

4 June Sivakumar: HR Ministry drafting policy to ensure social security for gig Malay Mail
workers
8 June Indonesia appreciates Malaysia’s commitment to protect migrant worker Channel News Asia
rights: Jokowi
Coverage of the Domestic Workers Day and the report launch:
Skilled to care, forced to work? Recognizing the skills profiles of migrant domestic workers in ASEAN amid
forced labour and exploitation

A third of domestic workers in Malaysia in forced labour conditions Bangkok Post (via Reuters)
(bangkokpost.com)
Nearly 30pct of domestic workers in M'sia face forced labour: UN agency
Malaysiakini

Nearly a third of domestic workers in Malaysia in forced labour

conditions, says UN agency Malay Mail

Denial of rights enables labour exploitation in Thailand, Malaysia,

Malaysian Insight
Singapore

Sebab eksploitasi buruh di Thailand, Malaysia, Singapura Sinar Harian

Kurangnya jaringan keselamatan sosial sebabkan eksploitasi buruh di

Astro Awani
Thailand, Malaysia, Singapura - Laporan
 TRIANGLE in ASEAN Programme Quarterly Briefing Note 4
Malaysia

Nearly one-third of Malaysian domestic workers in forced labour

Firstpost
conditions
Malaysia Takes The Lead In Forced Labor Among Domestic Workers, UN
Outlook India
Survey Shows
Migrant domestic workers in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand earn
The Straits Times
below minimum wage: Study
One in three migrants working in Malaysian households are ‘trapped in
forced labour’ Telegraph

Nearly a third of domestic workers in Malaysia in forced labour conditions

- U.N. agency Reuters

ILO ‘forced labour’ findings should compel policy rethink in Malaysia

Aliran

AWANI Tonight: ILO - 29% of domestic workers in M’sia in forced labour

conditions - YouTube Astro Awani
 TRIANGLE in ASEAN Programme Quarterly Briefing Note 5
Malaysia

Background information
Malaysia at a glance
Although population growth has remained relatively high
Population: 33.18 million in Malaysia, its rapidly expanding economy, increasing
Labour Force: 16.5 million urbanization, highly educated population and relatively
low labour force participation among women continue to
Source: ILOSTAT, 2022
create major demand for migrant workers to perform low-
paid jobs. Official data from the Department of Statistics,
Malaysia, reports that 1,997,800 regular migrant workers
Migrants in Malaysia (2020) were employed in Malaysia in 2022. This constitutes about
2,090,900 migrant workers 12.9 per cent of the country's total employment (ADBI, ILO
(W=683,600, M=1,407,300) and OECD, 2023). However, a World Bank report estimates
that 2.96 to 3.26 million migrant workers, including 1.23 to
Source: ILOSTAT (2020 Malaysia Labour Force Survey)
1.46 million migrant workers in irregular situations, were
residing in Malaysia in 2017 (World Bank 2019).
Approximately one-third of workers in the services sector
Migrants from ASEAN countries in and 25 per cent in agriculture are migrants (World Bank
2019).
Malaysia (2019)
Indonesia: 690,659 migrants Despite their ubiquity within the labour market, the role
Myanmar: 140,461 migrants migrant workers play in filling the demand for low-paid
Viet Nam: 17,327 migrants and largely manual labour has not been readily accepted
Philippines: 51,837 migrants (with a few exceptions, including in domestic work). For
Thailand: 14,928 migrants many years, targets have been set, and policies introduced
Cambodia: 3,321 migrants to reduce the dependency on migrant workers. However,
Lao PDR: 44 migrants changing the composition of the labour force is difficult,
with employers complaining of severe shortages in some
industries when more restrictive policies have been
Source: Immigration Department, Ministry of Home applied.
Affairs (September 2019).
Political and public discourse have regularly dovetailed in
portraying migrant workers as a potential threat to
TRIANGLE in ASEAN delivers assistance directly to national security and detrimental to the country's long-
migrant workers and their communities through two term social and economic development (ILO: Public
Migrant Worker Resource Centres (MRCs). These MRCs attitudes towards migrant workers in Japan, Malaysia,
are managed in partnership with the Malaysian Trades Singapore and Thailand, 2019). Labour migration policy in
Union Congress and are based at Kuala Lumpur/ Malaysia has tended to be formulated largely from the
Selangor and Penang. standpoint of controlling immigration and maintaining
Since the start of the programme up until the end of public safety rather than labour administration, as
2022, TRIANGLE in ASEAN reached 20,282 migrant indicated by the authority granted to the Ministry of Home
workers (45% women) through the Malaysian MRCs. Affairs over migration issues.

During the last several years, an increasing number of

media and NGO reports have documented serious labour
rights abuses against migrant workers in Malaysia,
including potential cases of forced labour and human
trafficking. Women domestic workers are particularly at
risk of exploitation and abuse due to the physical isolation
of their workplaces, typical restrictions on movement and
 TRIANGLE in ASEAN Programme Quarterly Briefing Note 6
Malaysia

inadequate mechanisms established to ensure the accountability of employers. About seven per cent of migrant workers
in Malaysia are employed as domestic workers (World Bank 2019), and the situation of these estimated 200,000 – 230,000
workers continues to be a major concern, particularly because of their lack of protection under labour law (ILO 2016).

Key partners  Ministry of Human Resources (MOHR)

 Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF)

 Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC)

Target sites  Kuala Lumpur/Selangor and Penang

Focal point  Marja Paavilainen, Senior Programme Officer, paavilainen@ilo.org

TRIANGLE in ASEAN extends the cooperation between the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Australian
Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Global Affairs Canada on protecting migrant workers
and enhancing development opportunities. TRIANGLE in ASEAN aims to ensure that the benefits of labour migration
are equally realized by men and women migrant workers; employers and governments. In shifting emphasis towards
leveraging the development potential of migration, TRIANGLE in ASEAN aims to shape labour migration opportunities
to support inclusive and sustainable growth in the ASEAN Economic Community. TRIANGLE in ASEAN engages
institutionally with ASEAN and focuses on delivering in six countries (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Thailand, and Viet Nam).

 Contact information ilo.org/asia

Ms Anna Engblom, Chief Technical Adviser,
ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific,
United Nations Building, Rajdamnern Nok
Ave., Bangkok 10200, Thailand
twitter.com/iloasiapacific
T: +66 2288 2245
flickr.com/iloasiapacific
E: engblom@ilo.org
W: ilo.org/triangleinasean youtube.com/ILOTV
Twitter: twitter.com/annaengblom facebook.com/ILO.ORG
© International Labour Organization 2023