A seminar on Centralised Labour Quarters (CLQ) and Security was organised by Malaysia Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) on 26 July 2018.

Held at the KVMRT Training Centre, Sungai Buloh, this is the second seminar of its kind with the first one being organised in 2017.

The aim of this seminar was to communicate current laws, policies on code of practices and understand the way forward for workers’ accommodation.

Attendees of the seminar were from MRT Corp, MMC-Gamuda KVMRT (PDP SSP) Sdn Bhd as the Project Delivery Partner for the MRT Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya (SSP) Line, Work Package Contractors (WPC) for the Project and several government agencies.

Participants of the seminar were also educated on the rules and regulations of hiring security guards.

Kicking off the seminar, MMC-Gamuda KVMRT (T) Sdn Bhd CLQ Manager Mr Visvanathan Virappan provided an overview of the current living conditions of construction workers in the MRT Project.

Since the initiative of the CLQ construction for the MRT Project in 2012, it has reduced the turnover rate of workers and medical leave but most importantly increased construction workers’ performance.

In addition to that, he gave a presentation titled ‘A Human Approach: The Innovation Is In The Concept of Holistic Approach to Managing Foreign Workers.’  Here he explained the harsh reality that is faced in Malaysia such as those living in rumah kongsi (shared houses) and the lack of water being accessible to them.

The next speaker for the day was Ministry of Home Affairs Assistant Secretary Encik Gary Albert Jimbih.  He talked about ‘Private Agency Act 1971- Rules and Regulation’ and discussed about security guards in Malaysia.

Albert highlighted that there are 799 security companies that employ security guards in the country where 77 percent of these guards are local, whereas the remaining 23 percent are of foreign nationals, mostly from Nepal.  This country is seen as the main supplier for foreign security guards as their hereditary background of being in the army is strong and they are also equipped with high discipline.

Explanation on training that security guards have to undergo in Malaysia was also mentioned. They have to undergo a 6-day training module such as first aid, effective communication classes and familiarisation of armoury.  Only upon passing this module they are able to work as security guards.

Puan Noraidah Basri, an architect from the Shah Alam Municipal Council (MBSA) then took to the floor to talk about ‘Temporary Building Construction, Best Practice At Site.’

According to her, before any work can begin, appropriate permits need to be obtained from the respective authorities.  She also explained that MRT Corp is the best organisation with best practice at site.

The project ensures that all permits are obtained before works begin and also the surrounding stakeholders of the project is well-aware of construction works that are being done. This will help mitigate the number of complaints about construction works.

Central Bank of Malaysia (Bank Negara) Money Services Business Regulation Department Manager Puan Noor Nazatul Hashimi was the next speaker of the day. She talked about remittance services in Malaysia.

In her short presentation, she emphasised on the awareness that foreign workers should have about illegal unauthorised money remittance services. Employers of these foreign workers need to assist their workers on recognising illegal services.

A previous case where 90 Indonesians who were cheated when remitting money totalling 1.9 billion Indonesian Rupiah was shown as an example of illegal remittance services.

The seminar was then officiated by MRT Corp CLQ, Safety, Security, Health and Environment Head Encik Azhar Sofah. Here, he mentioned that the MRT Project is continuously improving the CLQ for the SSP Line upon its previous success for the first MRT line, the MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang (SBK) Line.

Azhar was also on hand to present the prizes for the recently organised CLQ Sports Day in which WCT Holdings Berhad, the WPC for Package V204 emerged as overall champions. Gadang Engineering (M) Sdn Bhd, the WPC for Package V206 was awarded as the best managed CLQ to date. Events and awards like these help the CLQ to achieve greater success not just for the project, but also in social aspect.

After lunch, an interesting topic on ‘Foreign Workers Threat in Malaysia’ was presented by Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) Superintendent Nagalingam Murugayah.

The influx of foreign workers’ presence is a world phenomenon and in Malaysia, this has occurred since the 1980’s. Malaysia’s strategic location makes it easy for foreign nationals to come to Malaysia to seek employment.

With this in place, the authorities need to be on high alert for any problems that they might cause. Terror threats in the Islamic State and conflicts such as those in Iraq and Syria need to be identified as they could contribute to unwanted problems when working in Malaysia.

The final speaker of the seminar was Dr Nofi Yuliani from the Selangor Health Ministry who presented on ‘Introduction of Diseases and Injuries That Will Occur in the Workplace’.

She highlighted that there are many injuries and repercussions that may occur without people noticing.  One of it is mental strains at work, which might lead to stress and thus resulting in employees falling sick. This needs to be monitored and employers need to be aware about providing a conducive and comfortable workplace for their employees.

The seminar can be seen as a success as all attendees managed to take steps in improving and gaining further understanding about foreign workers’ in the country.