Call to rehouse migrant workers

Shifting standards: From makeshift zinc quarters at construction sites with poor amenities (below), workers’ housing is slowly shifting towards purpose-built, regulated accommodation, as companies invest to improve living conditions.

PETALING JAYA: A push to move migrant workers out of residential neighbourhoods and into gated centralised dormitories has raised questions over the balance between public safety and human rights.

While some state authorities and developers want Centralised Labour Quarters (CLQ) to eliminate overcrowding and social friction, international labour advocates warn that such geographic segregation may infringe on the fundamental right to choose where one lives.