MELAKA: A non-governmental organisation has been formed to look into claims involving alleged misconduct at hospital mortuaries related to deceased foreign workers.
Led by former Melaka executive councillor Datuk MS Mahadevan, the International Labour Care Organisation (ILCO) aims to address complaints about families or representatives of deceased migrant workers being asked to make “unofficial payments” before bodies can be repatriated.
“There have been troubling reports suggesting that undertakers are demanding money, allegedly to ‘settle’ with hospital staff before the release of bodies,” he said in an interview.
Based in Batu Berendam here, Mahadevan said the ILCO, which was set up this month, has begun collecting feedback from migrant communities who claimed they were charged additional fees after workplace deaths or fatal accidents involving their countrymen.
ILCO, he said, would seek engagement with the Human Resources Ministry to discuss repatriation policies and systemic improvements in how the remains of foreign workers are handled.
He said the organisation is expected to be officially launched soon, with an invitation extended to Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh to officiate the event.
“Our goal is to ensure that no family, local or foreign, is exploited in a time of loss,” he added.
