PETALING JAYA: The G25 group of prominent retired civil servants has urged the government to declassify an independent committee’s report containing recommendations on the streamlining of policies on foreign workers.
The group says the public is keen to know the contents of the 2019 report, especially about the recruitment process and management of foreign labour.
The report has been classified under the Official Secrets Act, with G25 stating that the public would be suspicious if the report’s release is delayed further.
“We are anxious to see the committee’s comments on the approval process of the relevant ministries and departments,” G25 said in a statement.
The group was interested in knowing whether the report had identified any weaknesses in the laws and policies pertaining to the recruitment and management of foreign workers.
“Have irregularities and elements of corrupt practices, as often alleged, been uncovered by the committee? To what extent are the complaints about the exploitation and ill-treatment of foreign workers true?”
Noting the large sums of money and various charges, fees and levies required to bring in foreign manpower, G25 said they wanted to ensure that recruitment charges were not being passed on by recruitment agencies to the public.
The group also said the public wanted to know whether syndicates were using corrupt means to provide foreign workers with MyKads in order for them to vote, adding that it hoped to find the answers in the report.
“This is another serious issue surrounding the recruitment of foreign labour. We hope to see what the independent committee said about this serious threat to our national identity.”
The Cabinet-sanctioned committee was set up by the Pakatan Harapan government in August 2018 and headed by former Court of Appeal judge Hishamudin Yunus.
Its report included 40 recommendations and was presented to the Cabinet in February 2019, but former human resources minister M Kula Segaran said not a single proposal was implemented.
Before the report was submitted, the press was told that it would include recommendations on the salaries and protection of foreign workers as well as suggestions to prevent the disruption of workflow.
Hishamudin said the final report also contained observations on the living conditions of foreign workers.
G25 has also asked the government to release the findings of an inquiry into the 2016 fire at Johor’s Sultanah Aminah Hospital which killed six patients.
A seven-man inquiry panel, also headed by Hishamudin, presented a 230-page report to health ministry secretary-general Chen Chaw Min in 2018, but it has yet to be made public.
According to G25, the report was declassified in October 2019 and there were no pending court cases regarding the case.
“We see no reason why this report should not be made available to the public,” the group said.
Source: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2023/04/18/release-report-on-foreign-workers-management-says-g25/