Harsh penalties, seized assets urged to protect vulnerable workers
SHAH ALAM - The government needs to take strong measures, including severe penalties, premises seizures, and freezing of the bank accounts of individuals or employers who exploit foreign workers.
Prominent lawyer Norman Fernandez said these steps are necessary to ensure that issues of forced labour or prostitution can be effectively addressed.
He said the problem arises yearly because existing laws do not deter offenders.
"Although there are already strict laws and fairly heavy penalties, they do not show a decrease in cases; in fact, they are increasing. When people are not afraid, we need to take a different approach.
"First, we need to re-examine the existing laws and strengthen them," he told Sinar when contacted.
Norman added that the exploitation of foreign workers occurs because employers want to reduce costs, such as avoiding paying levies to the government and offering low wages.
"In addition, the ease of border crossings is also a cause of the human trafficking problem still prevailing in the country.
"It is quite impossible for the authorities to be vigilant at all entry points into the country.
"So, the action that the government needs to take is to enforce the law to make them more fearful, including tightening the noose on migrant smuggling," he said.
