The neoliberal era has seen a dramatic rise in the use of migrant labour in Malaysia. To safeguard the profits of the capitalist class, profits worth billions and to deepen an already extreme wealth divide, both the government and the business elite have upheld policies that push wages to brutally low levels. Migrant workers, trapped in this structure, have become the prime victims of this economic system…

Since 2017, hundreds of Bangladeshi migrant workers at Mediceram Sdn. Bhd., a ceramic mould factory supplying glove manufacturers in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, have faced systematic exploitation. The company supplies multinational brands such as Ansell, Top Glove and YTY, yet the workers themselves endured unpaid wages, confiscated passports, expired work permits, and threats whenever they attempted to assert their rights…

Through their workers’ committee and legal representatives, the workers filed official complaints with the Labour Department (JTK), Industrial Relations Department (JPP), and the Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur. Yet they were met with indifference, bureaucratic negligence, and even intimidation — with officials reportedly telling them to “apologise to the employer and return to work” after holding private discussions with company representatives.

The workers’ demands are legitimate, reasonable, and grounded in law…