Challenges and constraints in achieving appropriate working and living conditions for Cambodian temporary migrant workers in Malaysia

Sok, Serey

doi:10.1080/0967828x.2019.1699368

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…A study conducted by Sunam (2022) claimed that current Malaysia's regulatory framework, poor commercial workplace and socio-economic infrastructures (see also Lindquist, 2017) have collectively caused precarious employment conditions facing many migrant workers, in particular the Nepali workers in the country. Other scholars have documented the persistent stereotypes among the host society against the migrant population, perceiving them as disposable workers (Ormond & Nah, 2020), disease vectors and financial burdens (Juliawan, 2018;Ormond & Nah, 2020;Sok, 2019;Wahab & Hamidi, 2022).…”

Section: Existing Literature Intersecting Migrants' Life Integration ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Life experiences and cultural adaptation among migrant workers in Malaysia

Enh,

Wahab,

Azlan

et al. 2024

CMS

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This study examines the state of migrants’ cultural adaptation in Malaysia, and how such an adaptation can help build our understanding of migrants’ life and employment experiences in the country. In doing so, this study has adopted a quantitative approach, with a completed survey towards 410 migrant respondents, living and working temporarily in Selangor, Malaysia. A multiple regression analysis finds that the three most significant predictors contributing to the respondents’ cultural adaptation are “positive experiences” (β = .677, p = .000), “closeness” (β = − .107, p = .008), and “social relationships” (β = .095, p = .032). While “positive experiences” and “social relationships” influence the migrant workers’ adaptation positively, the “closeness” predictor on the contrary (negative). Another predictor, “disconnection”, is found to be not statistically significant. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) reveals significant differences in the respondents’ cultural adaptation based on such demographic characteristics as age, gender, level of education, nationality, length of employment, and sector of employment. For instance, female migrants are strongly associated with a higher level of “positive experiences” [F(1, 408) = 6.321, p = .013] and “social relationships” [F(1, 408) = 5.634, p = .018], while male migrants tend to rely on cultural proximity (i.e., “closeness”) [F(1, 408) = 6.828, p = .009]. The discussion section highlights attributes such as the gender factor in cultural adaptation, preservation of cultural identities, and creation of migrants’ symbolic places to understand how cultural adaptation intersects with the migrant workers’ daily lives and experiences. This study concludes that as Malaysia’s economy continues to rely on migrant workers, it needs to better understand the workers’ cultural adaptation and their far-reaching impact on their life experiences and employment conditions in the country.

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Section: Existing Literature Intersecting Migrants' Life Integration ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Life experiences and cultural adaptation among migrant workers in Malaysia

Enh,

Wahab,

Azlan

et al. 2024

CMS

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“…Third, there have been growing studies suggesting that migrant workers in Malaysia (and elsewhere), regardless of their nationalities, are often seen as "disposable people", often excluded from the state protection and social welfare system (Lasimbang et al 2016;Sok 2019;Ormond and Nah 2020). Other studies argue that there have been persistent stereotypes against migrants in destination countries, perceiving them as a disease vector and financial burden to the hosting government (Ormond and Nah 2020, 11).…”

Section: Final Reflection and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Illuminating Causes and Barriers Underpinning Forced Labour in Nepal-Malaysia Migration Corridor

Wahab

Murad²,

Shamsuddin³

2023

SINERGI

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This study problematises Malaysia's migrant workers' governance by highlighting that while it can address forced labour, it has no jurisdiction over the recruitment process in source countries. This study attempts to persuade that any efforts to eliminate forced labour should address root causes and barriers underpinning it through a comprehensive migration trajectory approach – i.e., pre-recruitment, pre-departure and post-arrival (during employment) stages. This study focuses on the Nepal-Malaysia migration corridor as one of the essential labour migration pathways involving hundreds of thousands of Nepalis employed as temporary, unskilled and low-wage labourers. Findings and subsequent analyses were informed through a workers' survey involving 76 Nepali workers in Malaysia, in-depth interviews with 28 Nepali workers and 13 Nepali community leaders in Malaysia, and five Nepali leaders in Nepal. Though this study specifically covers the Nepal-Malaysia migration corridor, the causes and systemic barriers discussed are highly relevant to other migration corridors (e.g., Indonesia-Malaysia and Bangladesh-Malaysia).

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“…Such violations are further compounded by the lack of state protection and effective remedies to resolve labour and protection issues facing migrant workers (Wahab, 2020 ). Concurrently, there had been persistent stereotypes against migrant workers in the country, perceiving them as disposable workers (Ormond & Nah, 2020 ), and being disease vectors and financial burdens to the state (Juliawan, 2018 ; Ormond & Nah, 2020 ; Sok, 2019 ).…”

Section: Malaysian Labour Market and Its Reliance On The Migrant Work...mentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 pandemic and the changing views of mobility: the case of Nepal–Malaysia migration corridor

Wahab

Hamidi

2022

CMS

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For decades, Malaysia has been heavily dependent on unskilled and temporarily contracted migrant workers to fulfil labour gaps in the country. While Malaysia’s economy continues to rely on migrant workers, the COVID-19 pandemic has further aggravated their precarious working and living conditions. In-depth interviews with Nepali migrant workers and community leaders in Malaysia and Nepal in 2021 revealed the incidence of labour rights violations, compounded by the lack of access to justice and effective remedies. Besides, workers are allegedly no longer benefiting from the competitive wages, subsequently limiting the value of their remittance to Nepal. We argue that these incidents serve as the drivers of the changing views of mobility, eventually influencing the emigration environment in which the social construction of migration exists in Nepal. This study examines the migratory realities in the Nepal–Malaysia migration corridor during the pandemic, subsequently contributing to current debate on the aspiration–ability model as a class of research.

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Challenges and constraints in achieving appropriate working and living conditions for Cambodian temporary migrant workers in Malaysia

Cited by 10 publications

References 33 publications

Life experiences and cultural adaptation among migrant workers in Malaysia

Life experiences and cultural adaptation among migrant workers in Malaysia

Illuminating Causes and Barriers Underpinning Forced Labour in Nepal-Malaysia Migration Corridor

COVID-19 pandemic and the changing views of mobility: the case of Nepal–Malaysia migration corridor

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