Minister: Wristband just a proposal

A shared burden: Some say there should not be any need to single out foreign workers as Covid-19 does not differentiate by nationality.

PETALING JAYA: Authorities say that making all foreign workers in the country wear identification wristbands for surveillance is a mere proposal while industry players warn that this will lead to discrimination and stigmatisation.

Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said it was a mere proposal which he thinks can help in curbing the pandemic in about a million documented foreign workers in the country.

“It is still at the proposal stage and I will present it to the National Security Council (NSC) today before any decision is made, ” said Ismail Sabri.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof said NSC has requested that several ministries work together to resolve issues surrounding the surge of cases among foreign workers.

The proposal is being considered in light of the spread of Covid-19 among foreign workers, particularly among those housed in workers’ quarters at construction sites.

“The NSC held a special meeting on Wednesday night and, among others, agreed that the Housing and Local Government Ministry and Human Resources Ministry draft a comprehensive plan for foreign workers housing, accommodation and facilities, ” he said when answering a question in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday.

He said enforcement of the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act is crucial in ensuring workers’ accommodations and facilities are provided by employers.

(The Act came into force on Sept 1 this year and requires employers to obtain a certificate of accommodation from the Labour Department of Peninsular Malaysia.)

In the past week, a number of Covid-19 clusters comprising construction and manufacturing foreign workers had contributed to a surge of hundreds of cases in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.

Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said he will consult industry players first on the proposal, as it should be a collective decision with input from stakeholders.

“I will listen to the proposal (by Ismail Sabri) first and talk to industry players to get their feedback before deciding, ” said Fadillah when contacted.

The construction industry, which falls under the purview of the Works Ministry, hires the majority of legal foreign workers in the country.

Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai, president of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) – the country’s largest manufacturers’ association – said such a proposal by the authorities would serve only to stigmatise foreign workers.

“There should not be any need to stigmatise foreign workers as the Covid-19 pandemic does not differentiate between people by race, religion or nationality.

“The wristband should only be worn by someone who underwent Covid-19 screening or who has to undergo quarantine by virtue of the individual having been in close contact with a Covid-19 patient, returned from abroad or those in an administrative movement control order (MCO) area who have undergone screening as part of a surveillance exercise.

“The use of the wristband is part of the control procedure for persons who are undergoing a quarantine period after the Covid-19 screening and not for discriminating or stigmatising anyone.

“Making it compulsory for foreign workers to wear a wristband irrespective of whether they have undergone a screening test is wrong and should not be implemented, ” said Soh.On Wednesday, during a Covid-19 pandemic official update, Ismail Sabri said the government was considering making it compulsory for all foreign workers to wear identification wristbands to stop them from mixing with the locals.

He said that as some of them look like locals, it is a challenge identifying them.

“They can go to markets and eat in restaurants and this may lead to infections.

“We cannot prevent them from moving about and we cannot even differentiate between the faces of Bangladeshi workers, Myanmar workers and Malaysians. It’s difficult.

“We are currently discussing whether all foreign workers have to wear wristbands, so we will know when they are out and we can prevent them from going out, ” he said.

Earlier in May, the government made it mandatory for all foreign workers to take a swab test before economic activities were resumed.

On Oct 21, the government made it mandatory to conduct swab tests on foreign workers who work in the construction sector and security guards, as well as symptomatic employees, regardless of nationality.