Does Dap Agree With Guan Eng To Exempt Migrant Workers From Minimum Wages Epf Benefits

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RECENTLY, former DAP secretary-general, current Bagan MP and party advisor Lim Guan Eng argued that Malaysia need not pay minimum wages to foreign migrant labour nor provide them with Employees Provident Fund (EPF) benefits.
He even cited Singapore’s exclusion of migrant workers from Central Provident Fund (CPF) as justification for his stance.
Such a position might be expected from the leader of a pro-capitalist political party but coming from the leader of a party long considered social democratic, it is both baffling and deeply troubling.

DAP is a member of the International Progressive Alliance and is affiliated with the Network of Social Democracy in Asia (SocDem Asia).
To deny migrant workers these basic protections is to contradict the very principles the party claims to uphold.
Malaysia’s Federal Constitution makes no distinction between migrant and local workers in the provision of legislated minimum wages. All workers – foreign or local – are equal before the law.
While Malaysia is not a signatory to certain International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions on wages and benefits, the absence of these legal commitments does not prevent the enforcement of universally accepted labour standards.

Guan Eng’s statement is not just an affront to migrant workers; it undermines DAP’s claim to be a social democratic party.
By rejecting minimum wages and social security benefits for migrant labour, the party appears to side against the most basic democratic demands of a vulnerable section of the workforce.
DAP’s leadership must now answer clearly: is the party still committed to social democracy or has it abandoned those principles entirely?
Silence will be taken by the Malaysian public – especially the working class – as proof that DAP no longer represents the rights of the subaltern sections of society.
If this is indeed the case, the party should openly re-define its political ideology while regional and international umbrella bodies must consider whether DAP still deserves to be recognised as part of the global social democratic movement. 
Former DAP stalwart and Penang chief minister II Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is chairman of the United Rights of Malaysian Party (Urimai) interim council.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.
- Focus Malaysia.

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