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PETALING JAYA: Before the pandemic, Steven made his living in Singapore as a forklift driver, one of many Malaysians who had crossed the road in search of better prospects and wages.
Now living in Port Klang and dependent on trips to the food bank to feed his wife and four children, the uncertainty caused by Covid-19 looms over him and his family as they desperately try to make the most of the situation.
Steven is among the 15,666 Malaysians reported by the Malaysian High Commissioner to have lost their jobs in Singapore as a result of economic problems caused by the period of the republic’s “circuit breaker”, the equivalent of Malaysia’s MCO.
Government officials have said more support is needed to ensure that Malaysians laid off from their jobs in Singapore receive adequate support, as they lack the social protection offered by local business employees.
While Malaysian workers are generally protected by the Employment Insurance Scheme (EIS), which offers replacement wages for those recently laid off, this is only available to those hired by Malaysian companies, leaving those working abroad without financial protection despite being Malaysian citizens.
Charles Santiago, MP from Klang and Chairman of ASEAN’s human rights MPs, says that these people belong to the “informal sector” of workers, which means that they do not receive the benefits of those hired by Malaysian companies and are so vulnerable like the self employed the self employed.
“I have proposed to the government the development of a digital application that can be used to register people who are not in the formal sector and need support,” he told FMT.
Its proposed application would be available on mobile devices and computers and would allow those working in the informal sector to apply for job search programs and wage subsidy schemes.
Santiago said not helping these people would have ramifications for the nation’s economy, but it would affect Johor in particular.
“Most likely many of these people were displaced from different parts of Johor,” he said. “And 15,000 people losing their jobs means their ability to spend will decrease, which will have an impact on Johor’s small businesses and producers.
“The Johor government must be more responsible in caring for its people.”
Umno’s chief information officer, Shahril Hamdan, suggests instead a job board or federal job guarantee “because of how sudden and unprecedented job losses have become.”
“We could go the incremental route and suggest things like equivalent payments as if they were in EIS, but ultimately all of these approaches suffer from some kind of foreclosure risk,” he said.
His idea would require the government to assess the needs of the economy and create jobs in sectors deemed in need of development.
“There is a huge human and financial cost to maintaining unemployment,” he said. “It is up to the government in its budget and in the Twelfth Malaysia Plan to decide whether it wants to be incremental or really spend on something that matters.”
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