PUTRAJAYA, 4 June 2020:
A holistic approach is needed in order to curb Covid-19 infection among foreign workers, including illegal immigrants.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the approach required cooperation from various agencies and parties.
“When we look at foreign workers, we look at it holistically in terms of approach to this issue. We are hoping to look at a multi-agency approach to look into foreign workers (issues on Covid-19).
“(It involves) the whole government and society, then we can address this matter. We also must look into precautionary measures… also important is good personal hygiene.”
The country will witness major changes in the policy of employing foreign workers and to curb the entry of illegal immigrants post Covid-19, said Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
He said it was about time for the policy to be reviewed as foreigners were among major contributors to the surge in Covid-19 cases in the country as well as several other countries, including Singapore.
“Probably because of this Covid-19 pandemic, there will be major changes in the policy of employing foreigners and to curb the entry of illegal immigrants. This will be the main things to happen from this Covid-19 pandemic,” he said in an interview for a documentary on the Movement Control Order (MCO), produced by Bernama TV.
Explaining further, he said the tourism was among economic sectors adversely affected by the Covid-19 outbreak, with many hotels were shutting down their operations and retrenchment of workers which led to high unemployment rates.
While the post Covid-19 economic recovery may be slow, he said the government policy would definitely put more emphasis on employing locals.
As the minister entrusted with chairing special ministers’ meeting on the MCO throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and to communicate its daily development to the people, Ismail Sabri said the matter would be discussed with relevant ministries to review the policy on reducing the number of foreign workers in the country.
Apart from policy changes, another matter to be given extra attention was the never-ending issue of influx of illegal immigrants in the country.
Ismail Sabri said when Covid-19 was detected, an integrated special team comprising various relevant agencies was formed to strengthen the country’s border controls including ‘lorong-lorong tikus’ (rat trails).
“This integrated special task force, chaired by the Chief of Defence Force, is made up of enforcement agencies such as the Malaysian Armed Forces, Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) and a number of other agencies that we have created during Covid-19, to ensure the illegals who had left for their respective countries will unable to return here.”
The enforcement to continue to be strengthened even after the Covid-19 threat has ended to ensure the country remains free of any recurrence of import-related cases in the future as well as to resolve other issues related to illegals immigrants.
He said the country also faced challenges in combating the spread of Covid-19 when the actual daily Covid-19 cases in Malaysia showed a significant increase, involving positive cases among non-citizens since April 29.
This is due to cases of foreign imports and the spread of infection among non-citizens in several Immigration detention centres as well as among foreign workers in various sectors in the community.
Separately, a non-governmental organisation is urging undocumented workers, one of the country’s fringe communities, to get tested for the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.
MERCY Malaysia, a volunteer relief organisation providing medical and humanitarian services domestically and internationally, has been conducting free testing for marginalised groups, such as refugees, since May.
President Datuk Dr Ahmad Faizal Mohd Perdaus said the effort is part of the Ministry of Health’s (MoH) strategy of target testing “vulnerable populations.”
On top of refugees, the programme also includes screening of migrant workers, but MERCY does not believe they have tested any undocumented workers thus far.
“MERCY Malaysia current programme does not have any specifics for undocumented migrant workers. Although if any of them were to turn up at our testing facilities, we would not turn them away,” he said, adding it was the ethical and humanitarian thing to do.
Experts have described undocumented workers as a blind spot in Malaysia’s Covid-19 response strategy. Fear of detention has sent many into hiding, which health officials fear may create a situation where community transmission would go unchecked.
Dr Faizal said the organisation could not guarantee safe passage for undocumented workers who came for testing but asked immigration authorities to be “understanding” of the public health effort.
He added the organisation would like to expand its operations to other communities with undocumented workers anywhere in Malaysia. However, they currently lacked the funding to do so.
“So all we can do is to appeal to people who are undocumented, if we have such programmes, to come forward and be tested.”
To date, MERCY has conducted almost 1,300 tests on refugees, migrant workers and lower-income Malaysians in Ampang. No one has tested positive so far.
Rohingya refugees made up the majority of people who have been tested. Other refugees include those from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen.
Several said they took the test because they require it for work. Although refugees are technically prohibited from working, they are not considered undocumented as long as they are registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Most do menial and dirty jobs for low pay, out of the public eye.
“They are in a very grey area,” said Sumitha Shaantinni Kishna, director of Our Journey, a migrants’ rights group.
As for documented migrant workers, Dr Faizal said screening them was the responsibility of employers. According to MERCY estimates, fewer than 10 people tested were migrants.
Governmental guidelines require employers to test their foreign employees and provide them with various ways to prevent transmissions, such as requiring accommodations that allowed for social distancing, hand-washing and good hygiene.
However, a few migrant workers and refugees said some employers were taking advantage of the pandemic to discriminate against their workers.
Abdul Shukur Abdul Salam, a Rohingya refugee, said his employer would not let him work until he got tested.
“I checked the prices here and I couldn’t afford to do it at the clinics. They want RM350,” he said, adding they then referred him to MERCY. The cleaner said he was supporting a wife and three children on a RM1,200 salary.
Mat, who hails from Surabaya, Indonesia, was not as lucky. He did not get his test via MERCY’s programme, but instead, he had to pay RM400 for his own test at a private hospital in order to continue working.
“Everybody has had to pay for the test themselves,” he said, referring to his friends, some of whom were undocumented.
– Bernama