PETALING JAYA: Malaysians are still being conned into accepting jobs in Singapore without official employment contracts, says Malaysian High Commissioner to Singapore Ilango Karuppannan.
Often, this means they are denied staples such as basic salaries and rest days, he said.
Karuppannan said although the number of such cases had dropped significantly over the years, Malaysians were still being taken in by promises of “high-paying” jobs over the strait.
In some cases, employers even held on to their passports, he said in a report by The Star today.
About a decade ago, as many as 1,500 such cases were reported yearly. Last year, however, the numbers had dropped to 138.
“Previously, Sabahans and Sarawakians accounted for the bulk of those who fall prey to unscrupulous employers.
“But since the High Commission started handling labour matters, cases have dropped by 91%,” he was quoted as saying in an interview.
Karuppannan said despite the dip in case numbers, unscrupulous employers continued to exploit the similarities between Malaysia and Singapore and viewed Malaysians as more desirable compared to other foreign workers who created social problems there, The Star reported.
Karuppannan said those who wished to check whether a job offer was genuine could go to the Malaysians Overseas Employees Management centre at labour offices nationwide.
“This centre helps Malaysians to check if a job offer is genuine or fake and whether the employment agent is a registered one who can be trusted,” he was quoted as saying.
The report said between 450,000 and 500,000 Malaysians were believed to be working in Singapore, including 120,000 workers who commuted daily to the island republic.