Malaysia agrees on four issues on Indonesian maids

Malaysia has agreed on four issues on Indonesian housemaids, namely one day off per week, insurance coverage, improving the standard contract, and monthly or regular salary payment.

Human Resource Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said these were the only areas that both countries had agreed upon following discussions several months ago, while the other issues would be discussed at the next meeting.

“The date (of the meeting) has been deferred as they requested. (The meeting)... not this Wednesday,” he said after launching the Asia e-Learning Conference, here, yesterday.

The bilateral meeting, he added, would involve him and Indonesian Labour Minister Erman Suparno in Kuala Lumpur by the end of this month.

The meeting comes in the wake of Indonesia’s announced decision to stop sending housemaids to Malaysia until this coming meeting to discuss a new migrant worker agreement following reported cases of maid abuse.

“The discussion will be continual. We will agree on areas which we think we can agree on and we are also asking them to fulfil some of our requests, so that we can create an environment which both sides are happy about,” Dr Subramaniam said.

On e-education, that is, online learning and CD-based learning which allows individuals to access courses without being bound by time, space and level, he said the government hoped that all Malaysians could utilise it but did not set a target.

On the 11 “goodies” announced by Datuk Seri Najib Razak in conjunction with his 100th day as prime minister, Dr Subramaniam said these were for the good of the people.

“This was to inform the people that the government would always put the needs and interests of the people first,” he said.

Over 8,000 foreigners inspected during ops this year

Police inspected 8,755 foreigners from early this year until 12 July during various operations in major districts throughout the state.

Of these, 4,155 were found without valid travel documents and even suspected of committing criminal offences.

State Police Commissioner Datuk Noor Rashid Ibrahim told the media yesterday that police referred 2,983 of the immigrants to the Immigration Department for further action.

Those detained on suspicion of crime have been further remanded, he added after attending a monthly gathering in Kepayan.

Noor Rashid said the integrated operation to flush out illegal immigrants is still being conducted.

Meanwhile, he advised young motorists to exercise greater caution on the road as the majority of accidents reported in Sabah involved Perodua Kancil cars with young drivers who were speeding.

Noor Rashid presented letters of commendation to 14 officers including State Criminal Investigation Department Deputy Head ACPMohd Shariff Abd Wahid and Sandakan deputy police chief Supt Fadzil Mohd Ali.

Be cautious when speeding up citizenship approvals, govt urged

The government has been advised to practice caution when speeding up approval of citizenship applications for fear of possible abuse of authority.

“We must be careful about this matter to ensure that no one abuses it,” said Assistant Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Jahid Jahim in response to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s announcement on the matter.

Najib had said on Saturday that the government would speed up approval for citizenship applications including late birth registration. It was one of 11 people-friendly measures announced in conjunction with his first 100 days in office as prime minister.

Najib said that in Sabah 36,000 applications for registration of births were received since 2005 and that 92 percent of these were approved, while 80 percent of 19,000 applications in Sarawak since the same year were approved.

On citizenship, he said the number of applications pending as at Nov 1 last year was 34,000 and that as of last month 46 percent had been approved and efforts would be intensified to resolve the remaining applications.

Although he welcomed the announcement as good for the people of the State, Jahid, who is also Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) Youth chief, urged the government to set up a practical mechanism to detect possible abuses.

He stressed the importance of setting up the mechanism to ensure that the effort would benefit the targeted group.

According to reports an estimated 444,000 foreigners are in the State from which 230,000 of them are legally employed while 130,000 are illegal immigrants and the rest are refugees from the Philippines. Meanwhile, Bernama reported Consumer Association of Sabah and Labuan (Cash) president Datuk Patrick Sindu as also calling on the government to be careful when approving citizenship applications.

“We fear another catastrophe will happen. The issue of citizenship is never-ending in Sabah beginning with the IC Project in the early 1980s.

“We fear more foreigners, namely illegal immigrants, would see this as an opportunity for them to apply for citizenship using doubtful identification documents,” he said. Sindu added that mobilising of courts to rural areas, whereby magistrates could do the proper vetting, was the best way to resolve late birth registration issues.

Malaysians willing to pay RM700 to Indonesian maids

Malaysians are willing to pay Indonesian maids up to RM700 per month provided the cost of obtaining them can be reduced, a Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) survey revealed.

“Their rationale is that the savings from the agency fees can be gainfully utilised to pay the maids directly and also to look after their medical and other needs,” its secretary-general, G. Rajasegaran, said yesterday.

“At present, Malaysian employers have to pay agency fees of between RM7,500 to RM8,000, which is exorbitant, and hence households can only afford to pay the maids between RM350 andRM450 in order to cover the cost of agency fees,” he said.

He told Bernama that the government should standardise the cost of obtaining Indonesian maids at RM3,000, to enable them to be well paid and enjoy perks just like workers in other sectors.

He added that both the Malaysian and Indonesian governments should also endeavour to set up a joint agency to specially deal with the maids to cut the cost.

“This agency housed at the embassy, should be a one-stop outfit where all issues pertaining to maids, from their terms and condition of employment to their safety and wellbeing, can be looked after,” he said.

He agreed with Indonesian Manpower and Transmigration Minister Erman Suparno that the 250,000 maids from Indonesia should be given a day off and that they should be protected under the Malaysian labour laws.

Rajasegaran reiterated the MTUC’s stand that maids should be classified as workers so that they could enjoy all the benefits which were denied to them now. At present maids were not covered by the Employment Act 1955.

Meanwhile, Bernama understands that the Human Resources Ministry is working hard to get the required legislation in place by the next Dewan Rakyat sitting where amendments to the Employment Act would be tabled.

“All relevant departments were busy finalising the new regulations which would provide adequate protection to the maids as well as the employers,” ministry sources said.

Asked whether the quantum of fees charged by agencies would be one of the issues addressed, the sources said it could be as the ministry was studying the whole issue of maids in a holistic manner.

“We are not only looking for the immediate solution, but also at long-term implications so that all issues are adequately addressed to ensure smooth implementation of policies that benefit the country, employers and the maids,” one source added.

Power thieves busy salvaging wires before SESB dismantles them

An anti-power theft operation here almost turned into a competition on who could roll their wires up first at Mile 3 Jalan Apas, Tawau.

Following an inspection, Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) staff were busy cutting and reeling in the illegal power connections they found when just a stone's throw away, squatters were also occupied, rolling in any illegal wiring they could salvage before the SESB reached their area.

However, the squatters dropped what they were doing and left after noticing the media at the scene. The area was one of seven locations visited by the SESB team, led by South Zone Manager, Rudy Thaddeus, in a large-scale anti-power theft operation on Tuesday.

The seven locations were identified as having the most complaints on power thefts here. Apart from Mile 3, the other locations were Kg Tinagat, Mile 4, Timatch Jalan Utara, Tawau Lama, Airport Lama and Jalan Kuhara.

Rudy advised those passing-by these locations or other areas with power theft activities to be more careful, adding they could become electric shock victims like a woman here whose leg had to be amputated.

At the same time, SESB will continue with its operations, pointing out some squatters restored the illegal wires moments after they removed them. He also urged the local authorities to tear down the illegal squatters to be rid of the power theft activities.

2 geng gaduh dekat jenazah

Surau di sebuah flet di Kampung Kerinchi di sini, yang sedang menguruskan jenazah kecoh seketika berikutan pergaduhan dua kumpulan lebih 20 lelaki warga asing berpunca daripada tidak puas hati sesama mereka, pagi kelmarin.

Pergaduhan lebih 10 minit membabitkan dua kumpulan di hadapan surau itu menyebabkan penduduk sekitar terutama yang sedang melawat jenazah terganggu, selain khuatir perkara buruk berlaku.

Dalam kejadian jam 8.30 pagi itu, penduduk cuba meleraikan pergaduhan dua kumpulan itu, tetapi gagal menyebabkan mereka menghubungi polis bagi meminta bantuan.

Polis yang dihubungi kemudian menahan dua lelaki daripada kumpulan terbabit manakala selebihnya melarikan diri. Menurut sumber, sebelum kejadian, dua kumpulan warga asing itu membuat kacau dengan meninggikan suara masing-masing tanpa menghiraukan orang ramai yang datang menziarahi jenazah di surau berdekatan.

“Kedua kumpulan berkenaan menjerit dengan kuat dan cuba memukul satu sama lain tanpa menghiraukan orang ramai yang ada di situ,” katanya. Sumber berkata, ada penduduk cuba meleraikan pergaduhan itu, tetapi gagal.

Sementara itu, Timbalan Ketua Polis Daerah Brickfields, Superintendan Azri Abd Rahman, ketika dihubungi mengesahkan kejadian berkenaan.

COMMITTED TO TACKLING HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday assured Australia that Malaysia would do all it could to prevent illegal immigrants from slipping into Australia, and did not want this country to be a transit point. The Prime Minister said security agencies of both countries would work together, including in the areas of patrol, surveillance and exchange of intelligence.

“We have agreed that defence chiefs of both nations would discuss other ways in combating human trafficking,” Najib told reporters at a joint press conference with his Australian counterpart, Kevin Rudd, at the former’s office here.

Rudd is making a stopover here enroute to a six-day foreign trip. Najib said the new initiatives in tackling the problem would focus on pre-emptive measures, including greater exchange of intelligence.

It has been reported that thousands of illegal immigrants from war-torn countries or those hit badly by economic problems, head to Australia, with some allegedly using Malaysia as a transit point.

Commenting on the same issue, Rudd thanked Malaysia for cooperating with Australia in combating people smuggling activities which the latter described as “the evil trade”. Malaysia had successfully prevented several groups (of immigrants) from illegally entering Australia, noted Rudd.

“Exit factor has put pressure on the problem. The push factor derived from security and economic forces. Our challenges are to deal at the source, transit point and back home. We will take every practical and hardline measure to combat the evil trade,” said the Australian premier.

Najib said their discussions also touched on trade, green technology and education. On trade, Rudd said the two countries enjoyed a good, bilateral trade as they were among the top 10 trading partners in both directions.

Touching on green technology, Najib said Malaysia was keen to learn more from Australia’s initiative in carbon-reduction emission technology, as well as its renewable technology, such as solar energy.

Najib also told Rudd that Malaysia would hold an exhibition next year to showcase its green technology. Rudd said the country was looking forward to working with Malaysia on sharing the green technologies.

On education, Najib said 30,000 Malaysian students were currently studying in Australia. Rudd also acknowledged the joint Malaysia-Australia effort in training Afghanistan teachers in Malaysia at the moment.

He congratulated Najib over his recent economic programmes, and said he was looking forward to Najib’s visit to Australia.

104 illegals picked up in Ranau swoop

Police rounded up 104 people in a two-day integrated operation to weed out illegal immigrants at 19 locations here that ended, Sunday.

District Police Chief, DSP Suhaimy Hashim said the raiding team had earlier screened 306 people.

"We detained 67 Filipinos and 37 Indonesians, all found without valid travel documents," he said, adding the detainees have been sent to the temporary detention centre for the next course of action.

The operation also involved the Federal Special Taskforce, National Registration Department, Chief Minister's Department, Immigration Department and Rela.

Meanwhile, police detained a 21-year-old local man in an anti-cyber gambling raid in Putatan last Saturday.

Penampang Police Chief, DSP Madang Usat said a team led by Insp Mohd Jazlan Sharif stormed an outlet at Grand Plaza Putatan following a tip-off at about 6.30pm.

"We seized eight computers, six gaming machines and RM120 in the raid," he said.

DNA testing to stop fake MyKads?

MP for Tawau Datuk Chua Soon Bui has called for the use of DNA testing under the DNA Act 2009 to prevent foreigners, especially illegal immigrants, from becoming citizens through dubious means.

Speaking in Parliament while debating on the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Amendment) Act 2009, she said the deployment of DNA testing was important and urgent as it could effectively prevent illegal immigrants from applying to become citizens at the National Registration Department (NRD).

“The people of Sabah strongly doubt the anomalously large increase in the state’s population over the last 30 years. There is a strong possibility that many foreigners succeeded in becoming citizens of this country through dubious means sanctioned by the relevant authorities including the NRD. Therefore, it is time now to implement more security measures such as identification by means of DNA testing,” she said.

She was also convinced that if implemented, DNA testing could help resolve the issue of Sabah natives not being issued with birth certificates, MyKads and other legal documents.

“I therefore urge the Home Ministry to extend the scope of the DNAAct to also provide for the identification of one’s origin or family ties,” she urged.

She explained that it was rather difficult to identify family ties especially in the application of birth certificates for babies of bona-fide Malaysian women in the rural areas of Sabah.

“The matter was made worse by past incidents where foreigners used Malaysian women to obtain birth certificates in exchange for money. There were cases in Tawau where foreign women married to Malaysians obtained Malaysian citizenship. Subsequently, they apply for Malaysian citizenships for their children even though they are born and brought up in Indonesia, so they can follow their mothers to Tawau.

“Under these conditions, the NRD should be authorised to use DNAtesting to verify the family ties before processing the application. With more security measures such as DNA testing, it will prevent many dubious applications that exploit the loopholes in our National Registration System,” she said.

She continued that the implementation of the DNA testing could also protect the natives of Sabah who applied for late registration of their children’s birth, or when doubts arise in the application of Mykads due to incorrect information of one or two family members.

“The NRD could then use DNA testing to verify their family ties to facilitate the approval of their MyKad applications,” she said.

Chua noted that cases of native children not being issued with citizenship due to problems in obtaining birth certificates and identity cards were rather common.

“As a result, they are deprived of their rights as citizens, they cannot attend government schools nor secure jobs, while many foreigners get to enjoy all the privileges by becoming a citizen through dubious means.