STUDIES ON LOW-SKILLED MIGRANT WORKERS IN MALAYSIA IN 2000-2018: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Authors

  • AWANG IDERIS BIN AWANG DAUD
  • DZURIZAH IBRAHIM

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51200/ejk.v28i1.4171

Keywords:

migrant workers, low-skilled migrant workers, literature review, qualitative approach, quantitative approach, Malaysia

Abstract

Malaysia is a popular destination for low-skilled migrant workers primarily from developing and less developed countries. Their huge presence in the country has consequences for the economy and society which have sparked interest among scholars in studying the multitude of low-skilled migrant workers issues. Despite the volume of studies on low-skilled migrant workers, which cover a broad range of issues, little is known about the trend and direction of this stream of research. This paper aims to identify and highlight the main research traditions and scopes of low-skilled migrant worker studies in Malaysia by reviewing 35 articles published between 2000 and 2018. Although there are no peculiar patterns observed for the 19-year period, the increase in interest to write or research on low-skilled migrant workers among scholars is quite evidenced lately. Authors of the papers reviewed generally preferred to use either the terms “migrant workers” or “foreign workers” to refer to the low-skilled non-citizen workers in Malaysia. Almost all studies reviewed were empirical in nature that adopted more of qualitative rather than quantitative approaches to analyzing low-skilled migrant worker issues. Social, behavioral, policy, legal, and workers’ rights issues were more dominant as compared to economics and health-related issues.

Author Biographies

AWANG IDERIS BIN AWANG DAUD

Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities,

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak,

94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak

DZURIZAH IBRAHIM

Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities,

Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS,

88400 Kota Kinabalu Sabah

References

Azizah Kassim. (2014). Recent trends in transnational population inflows into

Malaysia: Policy, issues and challenges. Malaysian Journal of Economic

Studies, 51 (1), 9-28.

Bormann, S., Krishnan, P. & Neuner, M.E. (2010). Migration in a digital age: Migrant

workers in the Malaysian electronics industry: Case studies on Jabil Circuit

and Flextronics. WEED, Berlin Germany.

Crinis, V. (2005). The devil you know: Malaysian perceptions of foreign workers.

Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs, 39 (2), 91-111.

Crinis, V. (2010). Sweat or no sweat: Foreign workers in the garment industry in

Malaysia. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 40 (4), 589-611.

Crinis, V. (2012). The challenges of fieldwork: Researchers, clothing manufacturers,

and migrant workers. SOJOURN: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia,

(1), 168-189.

Dannecker, O. (2005). Bangladeshi migrant workers in Malaysia: The construction of the

“others” in a multi-ethnic context. Asian Journal of Social Science, 33 (2), 246-267.

Dannecker, P. (2009). Rationalities and images underlying labour migration from

Bangladesh to Malaysia. International Migration, 51 (1), 40-60.

Devadason, E.S., & Chan, W.M. (2014). Policies and laws regulating migrant workers

in Malaysia: A critical appraisal. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 44 (1), 19-35.

Devadason, E.S. (2009). Socio-economic effects of foreign workers on the host

economy: The case of the Malaysian manufacturing sector. FEA Working

Paper No.2009-26.

Garces-Mascarenas, B. (2011). Labour migration in Malaysia and Spain. Markets,

citizenship and rights. Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam.

Hamzah Abdul-Rahman et al. (2012). Negative impact induced by foreign workers:

Evidence in Malaysian construction sector. Habitat International, 36, 433-443.

Healy, L. (2000). Gender, “Aliens”, and the national imaginary in contemporary Malaysia.

(SOJOURN) Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, 15 (2), 222-254.

Hill, D.P. (2012). Port reform, South Asian migrant workers and spaces of vulnerability

in Port Klang, Malaysia. Asia Pacific Viewport, 53 (2), 105-117.

Institute of Labour Market Information and Analysis (ILMIA), Ministry of Human

Resource, Malaysia. (2020). The socio-economic impact from employment

of low-skilled foreign work and the international internship programme in

Malaysia. Rawang: Percetakan Salam Sdn Bhd.

Islam, M.R. (2013). Partnership research between Malaysia and Indonesia: A case

study of labour welfare. Social Research Reports, 25, 7-20.

Kartini Aboo Talib@Khalid et al. (2012). Labor law and immigrants: Legal impact

on minority. Asian Social Science, 8 (6), 52-62.

Kaur, A. (2012). Labour brokers in migration: Understanding historical and

contemporary transnational migration regimes in Malaya/Malaysia. IRSH,

(Special Issue), 225-252.

Kaur, A. (2014). Managing labour migration in Malaysia: Guest worker programs

and the regularization of irregular labour migrants as a policy instrument.

Asian Studies Review, 38 (3), 345-366.

Kaur, K. (2005). The media and migrant labour issues in Malaysia: A content analysis

of selected Malaysian newspaper. Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs,

(2), 69-90.

Le, T.H. (2010). A new portrait of indentured labour: Vietnamese labour migration

to Malaysia. Asian Journal of Social Science, 38, 880-896.

Liow, J. (2003). Malaysia’s illegal Indonesian migrant labour problem: In search of

solutions. Contemporary Southeast Asia, 25 (1), 44-64.

Loganathan, T., Rui, D., Ng, C.W., & Pocock, N.S. (2019). Breaking down the

barriers: Understanding migrant workers’ access to healthcare in Malaysia.

PLoS ONE, 14 (7), e0218669. http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0218669.

Martin, P. (2003). Managing international labor migration in the 21st century. South

Eastern Europe Journal of Economics, 1, 9-18.

Moha Asri Abdullah & Raymond K. K. Chan. (1998). Foreign labor in the midst of

the Asian economic crisis: Early experiences from Malaysia, Hong Kong,

Taiwan and Singapore. Jurnal Kinabalu, 18, 1-29.

Mohd Na’eim Ajis et al. (2014). The dilemma of managing foreign workers in

Malaysia: Opportunities and challenges. Global Journal of Human Social

Science: Political Science, 14, (4), 42-53.

Mohd Safri Saiman & Salmie Jemon. (2014). Social security: Case of foreign workers in

Sabah, Malaysia. Malaysian Journal of Business and Economics, 1 (1), 87-102.

Muniandy, P., & Bonnatti, V. (2014). Are migrants’ agents or instruments of

development? The case of ‘temporary’ migration in Malaysia. Journal of

Ethnic and Migration Studies, 40 (11), 1836-1853.

Nah, A.M. (2012). Globalisation, sovereignty and immigration control: The hierarchy

of rights for migrant workers in Malaysia. Asian Journal of Social Science,

, 486-508.

Narayanan, S. & Lai, Y.W. (2005). The causes and consequences of immigrant labour

in the construction sector in Malaysia. International Migration, 43 (5), 31-57.

Narayanan, S. & Lai, Y.W. (2014). Migration and development in Malaysia: The

impact of immigrant labour on the manufacturing sector, 1986-2010. A paper

presented at the National Population Conference on the Inter-Relationship

between Population Dynamics and Development organized by the Population

Studies Unit of the University of Malaya in collaboration with the National

Population and Family Development Board 26 June 2014.

Norhidayu Sahimin, Lim et al. (2016). Migrant workers in Malaysia: Current

implications of socio-demographic and environmental characteristics in

the transmission of intestinal parasitic infections. PLoS Neglected Tropical

Disease, 10 (11), 1-17.

Normah Awang Noh et al. (2016). Public health services for foreign workers in Malaysia.

Social Work in Public Health. DOI: 10.1080/19371918.2015.1125321.

Nurul Azita Salleh, Norazah Mohd Nordin & Abdul Khalim Abdul Rashid. (2012). The

language problem issue among foreign workers in the Malaysian construction

industry. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3 (11), 97-99.

Pocock, N.S. et al. (2018). Reflections on migrant and refugee health in Malaysia

and the ASEAN region. BMC Proceedings, 12 (Suppl. 4), 4. Https://doi.

org/10.1186/s12919-018-0100-6.

Rahmah Ismail & Ferayuliani Yuliyusman. (2014). Foreign labour on Malaysian

growth. Journal of Economic Integration, 29 (4), 657-675.

Rohaida Nordin et al. (2018). Health insurance for foreign workers in Malaysia

and Singapore: A comparative study. International Journal of Business and

Society, 19, 400-413.

Santos, A., Ramos, H.M., Ramasamy, G. & Fernandes, C. (2014). Prevalence of

musculoskeletal pain in a sample of migrant workers in the manufacturing

industry in Malaysia. Public Health, 128, 759-761.

Sundra-Karean, V., & Sharifah Suhanah Syed Ahmad. (2012). The role of corporate

social responsibility and soft law options in the protection of migrant workers’

interest in host countries – The case of Malaysia. Asian Journal of Social

Science, 40, 509-523.

Ullah, A.K.M.A. (2009). Theoretical rhetoric about migration networks: A case of a journey

of Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia. International Migration, 51 (3), 151-168.

Zaleha Mohd Noor et al. (2011). The impact of foreign workers on labour productivity

in Malaysian manufacturing sector. International Journal of Economics and

Management, 5 (1), 169-178.

Zehadul Karim, A.H.M. & Nurazzura Mohamad Diah. (2018). Health seeking

behaviour of the Bangladeshi migrant workers in Malaysia: Some suggestive

recommendations in adjustive context. Asian Social Science, 11 (10), 348-357.

Published

2022-12-22

How to Cite

AWANG IDERIS BIN AWANG DAUD, & DZURIZAH IBRAHIM. (2022). STUDIES ON LOW-SKILLED MIGRANT WORKERS IN MALAYSIA IN 2000-2018: A LITERATURE REVIEW. Jurnal Kinabalu, 28, 66–80. https://doi.org/10.51200/ejk.v28i1.4171
Total Views: 406 | Total Downloads: 217