Commenting on a Bloomberg report on the plight of Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia, former Klang MP Charles Santiago said the issue went beyond mismanagement and reflected a “system of exploitation” that had grown because no one had been held accountable.
He said the conditions faced by the workers meet legal thresholds for trafficking, forced labour and structural exploitation, claiming that the exploitation is organised through syndicate-controlled recruitment networks and corrupt brokers.
“This is not a failure of paperwork. It is a failure of justice,” he said in a statement today.
Santiago called for an independent criminal investigation led by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) chairman Hishamudin Md Yunus, covering all aspects of the exploitation, including recruitment agencies, employers and any public officials who may have facilitated the abuse.
He also demanded full transparency and public reporting, with civil society and worker representatives involved in oversight roles.
“Findings should be released in full, and prosecutions should follow where credible evidence of wrongdoing exists,” he said.
Bloomberg’s report yesterday detailed how over 800,000 Bangladeshis had migrated to Malaysia in the past decade, often paying fees of up to US$6,600 (RM26,700), leading to debt bondage, forced labour and trafficking. The report also implicated a syndicate and several officials in both countries.
Santiago urged the government to provide protection and remedies for affected workers, including legal aid, medical and psychosocial support, compensation mechanisms, and temporary legal status for those who cooperate with investigations.
He also proposed the creation of a compensation fund for victims, funded by fines and seized assets.
On recruitment practices, Santiago called for reforms to eliminate worker-paid recruitment fees and debt-bondage systems, banning syndicate-controlled pathways, and replacing existing memoranda of understanding with binding labour agreements.
He further urged stronger enforcement of labour rights through independent complaint mechanisms, regular unannounced inspections, and legal remedies for wage theft, passport confiscation and contract violations.
Santiago said Malaysia should also work with Bangladesh and international human rights bodies to establish independent oversight and ensure bilateral labour agreements are rights-centred, not profit-driven.
“This is not a peripheral issue. It is a human rights scandal that demands criminal accountability, systematic reform and justice for those harmed,” he said, adding that silence and delay are forms of complicity.