Speaking to FMT, they said the decision to relax the enforcement of rules on workers’ housing and on the extraction of non-renewable minerals raised questions about the government’s commitment to human rights and protection of the environment.
Geoffrey Williams of Malaysia University of Science and Technology said human resources minister M Saravanan had been doing well to address issues of workers’ accommodation and it was therefore disappointing to see Putrajaya making a U-turn.
He was referring to the government’s decision to go easy on the enforcement of the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act until the end of the year.
“This is extraordinary because just last Wednesday, (senior minister) Azmin Ali had announced the new National Investment Aspirations policy focusing on high-value work and environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals,” he said.
Williams noted that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin launched the National Mineral Industry Transformation Plan 2021-2030 to develop the local mineral industry a day after Azmin’s announcement.
The plan is to provide long-term returns from the mineral industry and to make it one of the main contributors to the country’s economy.
“This sends the wrong signals to international stakeholders and undermines other government commitments to, for example, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals announced by (finance minister) Tengku Zafrul Aziz.”
Williams said it also signalled that human rights and labour laws could be arbitrarily relaxed to “suit special interest groups”, particularly employers.
Benedict Weerasena of Bait Al-Amanah said Malaysia could not afford to lose out to regional competitors on foreign investments.
Noting that international companies had re-evaluated their ties with Malaysian glove manufacturers due to allegations of forced labour and poor living conditions, he said the country must not “make the same mistakes again”.
Citing a recent Morgan Stanley Capital International survey, he said 79% of Asia Pacific investors were planning to increase ESG investment as a response to the pandemic.
“All in all, there is a need to pursue and uphold stronger ESG practices in our nation’s commitment towards sustainable economic growth,” he said. “This requires a concerted push by the government and the private sector towards improved labour standards.”