Malaysian claim being cheated

KUALA LUMPUR: The Umno youth community complaints bureau is trying to bring home three Malaysian men who were cheated by an employment agency in Papua New Guinea last December.
The trio are  Rimban anak Mawang, 49, Jeri anak Ebet, 47, and Richi anak Jeri, 23, from Kapit, Sarawak.
They had been offered jobs as lumberjacks in the country.
The three were allegedly offered lucrative salaries, while their families back home were to receive K1,250 a month.
However, the families had yet to receive any payment, while the workers themselves were tortured and oppressed and were no longer employed, a family member said.
The daughter of one of the employment scam victims, Rose anak Rimban, 26, said her father, who is Jeri’s brother-in-law, told her in a phone conversation on April 21 that they had been cheated by their employers and that there were no perks as promised.
“My father told me they were locked in on the premises and monitored at all time by armed men. They were not given any money, food or water.
“I worry about his safety and hope that the Umno youth community complaints bureau and Parti Rakyat Sarawak can bring all of them home,” she said at a news conference in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.
Umno youth community complaints bureau chairman Muhd Khairun Aseh said after receiving reports from the family members, they contacted the Malaysian High Commission in Papua New Guinea and the authorities in the country to discuss the case.
“With the cooperation and help of the high commission and the acting high commissioner, Nur Azman Rahim, we have identified the location of the three victims in a remote area, far from the country’s capital,” he said. “However, their security is not a problem.”
Muhd Khairun said their mission to bring the victims home would begin in two weeks after getting the greenlight from the Malaysian High Commissioner there.
He suggested the government update its system and tighten requirements for Malaysians intending to work abroad.
“We find that in several cases of people working abroad, such as this one, there are no proper contracts or agreements. It can only be prevented by improving the system and providing options and alternatives so that Malaysians are not exploited by irresponsible parties,” he said. – Bernama