The Bar Council -- through its Migrants, Refugees and Immigration Affairs Committee ("MRIAC") -- published the first comprehensive study on access to justice for migrant workers in Malaysia, entitled Migrant Workers' Access to Justice: Malaysia, in September 2019.
Please click here for a copy of the report.
The report was researched and authored by Eleanor Taylor-Nicholson, Renuka Balasubramaniam and Natasha Mahendran, with funding for the research provided by the Open Society Foundations' International Migration Initiative.
The Migrant Workers' Access to Justice: Malaysia report examines the rights of migrant workers under Malaysian law, the mechanisms available to enforce those rights, and the effectiveness of those mechanisms for providing redress to migrant workers who have been wronged. It also identifies gaps in legal protections, and cross-cutting systemic barriers that prevent migrant workers from accessing justice in Malaysia.
The report sets out detailed findings on access to justice for migrant workers in Malaysia, and issues 46 recommendations for improving access to justice. These recommendations are targeted to the Government, legal community, civil society organisations, donors, and researchers.
The findings and recommendations contained in the report are based on the perspectives of 101 migrant workers and 44 stakeholders, including government employees, lawyers who represent migrant workers, civil society organisations that support migrant workers in the legal process, private sector employers and recruitment organisations, trade unions, embassies of migrant workers' home countries, as well as from the Judiciary.
Please click here for a copy of the Migrant Workers' Access to Justice: Malaysia report.