Claims that Malaysia Handed 1,000s of Burmese Illegal Immigrants to Human Traffickers

The US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations has urged Malaysia to probe claims by refugees from Myanmar (Burma) that Malaysian immigration officials handed them over to human traffickers on Malaysia's border with Thailand.

A Senate report on 23 April 2009 that claimed illegal Burmese immigrants deported from Malaysia were often turned over to human traffickers and forced to work in brothels, fishing boats and restaurants in Thailand if they had no money to purchase their freedom.

The report was based on a one year review by committee staff who spoke to migrants from military-ruled Myanmar, also known as Burma, and human rights activists.

According to the report, in recent 'a few thousand' Burmese immigrants may have become victims of extortion and trafficking once they were deported to Malaysia's northern border with Thailand.

'Upon arrival at the Malaysia-Thailand border, human traffickers reportedly take possession of the migrants,' the report stated.

Read the full news report HERE

Please also click HERE for a more detailed story on this shocking human trafficking


This appears to be clear example of man's inhumanity to man!

Facta, non verba

Deeds, not words

Emitte lucem et veritatem

Send out light and truth

Same Shit, Different Day!

Still Time for Jokes and Jokers

BRAIN TRANSPLANTS

In the hospital the relatives gathered in the waiting room. 

A family member lay gravely ill.

Finally, the doctor came in looking tired and sombre. 

"I'm afraid I'm the bearer of bad news," he said,
as he surveyed the worried faces. 

"The only hope left for your loved one at this time
is a brain transplant. 

It's an experimental procedure, very risky but it is
the only hope. 

Insurance will cover the procedure, but you will
have to pay for the brain yourselves." 

The family members sat silent as they absorbed the
news.
After a pregnant pause, someone asked, 

"Well, how much does a brain cost?" 

The doctor quickly responded, 

RM 80,000 for a male brain, and RM 2,000 for
a female brain." 

The moment turned awkward. 

Men in the room tried not to smile, avoiding eye contact
with the women, but some actually smirked. 

A man unable to control his curiosity, blurted out the
question everyone wanted to ask, 

"Why is the male brain so much more expensive?" 

The doctor smiled at the childish innocence
and explained to the entire group: 

"It's just standard pricing procedure.
We have to mark down the price of the female brains,
because they've actually been used." *

* Note:

The same pricing procedure (marking down) would doubtless
also be applicable for brains of most non- BN / UMNO politicians
regardless of their gender, and vice versa!

This story from the Malay Mail HERE is indicative of this fact.

Malaysia's HR Minister, Subramaniam

Extracts-

“….Human Resources Minister apparently has not seen the Australian Channel 7 television report on “forced labour and appalling working conditions” at a Nike contract factory in Kuala Lumpur.

…………….would not have lashed out at Nike, the athletics apparel giant, for interfering in the internal affairs of Malaysia.

…………….also said it was not appropriate for Nike to impose its own standards on a local supplier here.

Further, he said the allegations were not accurate and without basis.”

"I was raised with the idea that if you're not smart enough to do science you can do politics."

- Dr. Michael Crichton, 28-01-2005

Slave labour wage rates in Malaysia

It has been reported in the local press:

Malaysia wants zero dependence on foreign workers!

Syed Hamid Albar

Home Affairs Minister Syed Hamid Albar said the Government wants to do away with foreign workers as their numbers – both legal and illegal – have reached three million, yes 3,000,000.

If that is the government figure, one could realistic expect this to be a serious under-estimation, but 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 million, whatever the actual total number is, it is far too high.

He said he would seek the cooperation of the Human Resources Ministry to find ways to reduce the demand for foreign workers.

Speaking to reporters after visiting the Immigration Department headquarters in Putrajaya on 15^th April 2008, he said the move would also ensure that there would be no unemployment among Malaysians.

The cooperation of employers was most important since they created the demand for foreign workers and this had also caused illegal and legal foreigner workers to enter the country in unabated.

“We want to see the demand for foreigners totally scrapped, that is our aim. We need cooperation from those who are seeking workers.”

“We need a collective and planned effort from all quarters including the Human Resources Ministry to ensure that we depend only on our own citizens,” adding that illegal foreign workers were one of the biggest problems the ministry was facing.

When asked regarding employers offering more attractive salaries, allowances, benefits and better term of employment for locals to take over jobs that were now dominated by low paid foreigners, he said “for an unemployed Malaysian any job would be attractive”.

The social inequality being measured

(click picure for a larger image)

What utter insensitive, arrogant and uninformed BULLSHIT, one shudders to think that this guy was formerly Malaysia's foreign minister!

If you want to see his calibre, watch his performance on the BBC Hard Talk Programme HERE

Syed Hamid has, by saying what he was reported to have said, made it impossible for the virtual slave-labour jobs, to be converted into jobs which a person can expect to be paid a living wage. The status quo will thus remain ad infinitum.

Consequently no Malaysians will ever be able to replace the poor unfortunate foreign workers, who are willing, or forced, to work like slaves for a pittance, see my earlier post HERE

Sol omnibus lucet

- The sun shines upon us all

Modern Day Slavery exposed at TESCO in Malaysia

An investigation by The Daily Telegraph (United Kingdom) has uncovered the fact that people subcontracted to work up to 80 hours a week in Tesco's supermarkets in Malaysia found themselves employed in circumstances that meet the United Nations' definition of forced labour.

Read the full article in the UK Daily Telegraph HERE

Tesco, the UK supermarket chain, is a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), which commits members to checking their entire supply chain to ensure that forced labour is not used.

"Doing business in some overseas markets can be challenging as local laws and customs sometimes appear to conflict with the high expectations we have here in the UK and elsewhere in the international community," the company reportedly had said.

"However, wherever we operate we insist on the highest standards of welfare for workers, both our own and - as in this case - those employed by contractors working for us.

We take allegations such as these very seriously and have launched an immediate investigation with our contractors.

Whilst we do not believe that they are deliberately seeking to disadvantage their workers, if improvements need to be made we will not hesitate to make them."

A pay slip (click on it for larger image) for a Bangladeshi cleaner at a Tesco Malaysia store, who is employed by a Malaysian sub-contractor, shows basic monthly pay of only RM 135.48 [about GB£21.50] after deductions.

Dan Rees, director of ETI was reported to have said that:

"ETI members are expected to put robust systems in place to check that their suppliers are employing workers in decent conditions and their rights under national and international laws are respected.”

"Companies have an important responsibility to ensure that labour agents are decent employers but the root causes of the problem lies with the Malaysian government whose policies promote the exploitation of vulnerable migrant workers."

Roger Plant, head of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) special action programme to combat forced labour, is reported to have said:

"Many people would use the term 'modern day slavery' to describe the situation faced by these workers. We call it forced labour which is a criminal offence under international law."

Modern Day Slavery appears to be alive and well in Malaysia.

Foreign and local workers are being exploited by their employees, how utterly shameful.

The Malaysian government, as well as other governments, employers such as Tesco and all other companies which exploit workers in Malaysia and elsewhere in the world, must put an immediate stop to this modern day form of slavery, forced labour and a blatant criminal abuse of human rights.

Vita non est vivere sed valere vita est
- Life is more than merely staying alive