Malaysia raids illegal female workers

Malaysian police have stepped up raids on undocumented female workers since the murder of North Korean citizen Kim Chol in the country on February 13.

Undocumented female workers in Malaysia are vulnerable to abuse. Photo: AFP

Two women, Doan Thi Huong (Vietnamese) and Siti Aisyah (Indonesian), have been charged with murder for allegedly smearing a poisonous substance on the face of the North Korean victim at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 on February 13 and will appear in court on April 13.

Little is known about the activities of the two women in Malaysia. Local police have only said that Huong worked at an “entertainment establishment” and Aisyah worked as a masseuse at a beauty salon. AFP quoted immigration experts as saying that the mystery surrounding the two women’s lives in Malaysia reflects the secretive existence of thousands of Southeast Asian women who come to Malaysia “illegally” and live in fear of arrest.

Many come to Malaysia to work under legal employment contracts, but thousands of women take advantage of the 30-day work permit policy in Singapore and Malaysia to work in these countries, moving to another country and returning each time their work permits expire. They can work in a variety of jobs, from cleaners and waitresses to masseuses and prostitutes, according to AFP.

A 25-year-old Vietnamese woman who works in a dimly lit bar in Malaysia said she constantly texted her sister in Ho Chi Minh City to reassure her worried family. “I texted my sister every day, telling her I had to take the risk. I had no choice, I needed the money,” she told AFP.

A Filipina woman working as an illegal waitress in Malaysia also expressed fear after three of her compatriots were arrested in a raid.

Malaysian foreign worker rights activist Aegile Fernandez said brokers or employers often keep all identification documents, force female workers to live in the same house, closely monitor them, isolate them and allow them little contact with the outside world. “Some illegal female workers are even threatened by their employers with rape or being handed over to the police if they run away,” Fernandez said.

According to TNO