Malaysia is home to around 2 million documented migrant workers, comprising around 15 percent of the total workforce, said Jarud. Tan and Jarud co-authored a report on the economic case against marginalizing migrant workers in Malaysia published on the LSE Southeast Asia Blog. She pointed out that several industries are heavily dependent on migrant workers, including manufacturing, construction, agriculture, forestry and fishing. “You may say that, well, locals can always fill in the vacancies once the migrant workers are gone,” Tan said. Within Malaysia, the government can extend public health and economic benefits to foreign workers regardless of their immigration status, said Tan.

Source: The Standard November 05, 2020 03:14 UTC