Labour Abuse Issues Pose a Potential Threat to Malaysia’s Export Growth Model

Experts issued warnings over Malaysia’s growing problem of workplace aggression among migrant workers that will likely impact their economic growth model which relies heavily on the country’s exports.

Migrant workers form the backbone of Malaysia’s agricultural initiatives as well as major manufacturing plants that are significant contributors to the world’s supply chain of goods including semiconductors, medical gloves, palm oil, and iPhone parts.

The country’s network of migrant laborers who come from Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Nepal, have been continuously subjected to abuse in the workplace amid poor working and living conditions.

Over the past two years, a total of seven Malaysian companies have been dropped by U.S. firms over allegations of workplace abuse.

Referring to it as a “wakeup call”, Anthony Dass, the Head of AmBank Research in Kuala Lumpur said, "If Malaysia does not change and with the global focus on environmental, social and governance practices, businesses could move to other countries."

Although countries like China and Thailand also face a similar issue, the current global surveillance directed towards Malaysia could possibly spell doom for the country’s economic aspirations unless it takes immediate effective measures to protect the interests of its migrant labor force.

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