Managing foreign domestic workers in Malaysia : state versus human security

Abstract

Malaysia is facing problems on controlling migrant workers. Although sea-borne mobility in Malay Peninsula was fact of life for many centuries, conflicts emerged within state that has come to regard the others as threats to their own security. Capturing the dilemma of state versus human security, it is essential to see how the rights of Foreign Domestic Workers (FDW) are protected in the host country. Maid abuses and exploitation cases have proven that states have failed in protecting the rights of FDW, which is part or the human security issues. Given the complex dynamics that emerge when migration impacts human security, it is important to find out how states as the main actor in controlling migration can protect the rights of FDW and at the same time also accommodate national/domestic interests. If FDW policies are not effective in protecting the interest of FDW and the employees, it will then impact upon the relationship of FDW and employers at micro level. FDW policies and access to justice are the key factors governing FDW issues to create human security.