Eight Malaysian companies in US forced labour list

EIGHT Malaysian companies were slapped with a Withhold Release Order (WRO) by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the past two years, says Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Awang Hashim.

The companies were from the palm oil and rubber sectors, he told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

He was responding to a question by R. Sivarasa (PH-Sungai Buloh) on the names and business fields of Malaysian companies that have from 2019 until now been subject to a Withhold Release Order or Finding order by the CBP.

Sivarasa also asked about the actions taken by the government to ensure the Finding order imposed on Sime Darby Bhd dated Jan 28 will be withdrawn by the CBP.

“We have two companies which were taken out from the WRO list,” Awang (PN-Pendang) said during the Oral Question and Answer session.

He said there are 11 evaluation criteria that evaluate forced labour and human trafficking in labour practices.

“We have used each of the 11 items to ensure that forced labour and human trafficking do not happen in labour practices in Malaysia,” he said.

Among the companies affected by the CBP’s actions are Top Glove Corp Bhd, Sime Darby Plantation Bhd, Supermax Corp Bhd and FGV Holdings Bhd.