Malaysian Gets Costly Lesson on Proper Wages

Malaysia’s The Star daily today featured a report on a restaurant owner who has been fined by the Melbourne Magistrate’s court for underpaying his employees. Hong Poh Meng, owner of Penang Kayu Nasi Kandar Ltd which operates a restaurant here, Kayu@Boxhill, was fined A$180,000 for breaching 11 Australian work place laws. These include paying a chef brought over from Malaysia less than A$10,000 over 18 months, which amounts to a staggering underpayment of A$76,000 or less than 12% of the minimum amount the man was entitled to. In addition, two 19-year-old casual waitresses were underpaid A$4876 and A$899.

Among the Malaysian international student community here there is widespread perception that Asian employers, including Malaysians, will generally underpay their workers, and the working conditions will not be as hospitable as would be expected in businesses run by Australians. However, for many students they have little choice but to endure those conditions because 1) they need the money; 2) many restaurants in the Melbourne CBD are run by Asian employers; 3) the students are not able to meet the language expectations of Australian proprietors.

I was fortunate enough to work for an Australian food business during my student days that paid above the minimum rate and provided excellent working conditions for its staff. My experience should not be the exception, rather the standard for the food service industry in a country as prosperous as Australia. Hopefully this court outcome will serve as a reminder to other businesses to treat their employees with the respect they deserve.

A Small But Significant Insight Into The Malaysian Labour Scene

Yesterday, we posted an article titled ‘Mandarin-speaking Shop Assistants: Is This Racial Discrimination?’ where we questioned the validity of modern, culturally-neutral fashion outlets demanding Chinese-speaking shop assistants, amidst an urban, contemporary Malaysian society where most, if not all Malaysians, are assumed to be able to speak at least conversational Malay or English. We were surprised, and very much delighted, at the deluge of comments posted by visitors. Kampunghouse adopts a zero-censorship policy, and our faith in absolute freedom of speech (at least within the confines of this website) has been vindicated by the diverse and thought-provoking contributions by our readers. Although all of the comments deserve mention, we would like to devote special attention to comments left by one Dorjee, who has enlightened us with first-hand experience of the sometimes tough and unjust labour conditions in Malaysia.

Although it is a diversion from our original topic, Dorjee has brought up the contentious issue* of employees being denied overtime pay by exploitative employers. We view this as a serious abuse of power which not only calls for an overhaul of labour regulations, but also demands a thorough review of what constitutes ethical and exemplary work culture, and the shift in traditional mentality that this entails. Currently, the kampunghouse team does not have enough experience in the Malaysian labour environment to rationally discuss this matter. We welcome contributions from readers who, like Dorjee, could enlighten us on this issue. In the meantime, we recommend you evaluate the comments posted in the previous article.

*Dorjee also brought up the even more contentious issue of Bumiputra quota allocations and other such policies designed to assist Bumiputras. We recognise that this is an extremely complicated issue, one which encompasses many different points, which often contradict one another. There have been numerous articles regarding this topic, many often emotional and one-sided, which we acknowledge does assist in identifying the problems. However, we would prefer to confront this topic in a holistic, considered and educated manner, and at this point in time we are unable to do so.

Mandarin-Speaking Shop Assistants: Is This Racial Discrimination?

Not too long ago, we spotted job vacancies demanding Chinese-speaking shop assistants, in what are otherwise modern, culturally-odourless fashion outlets, in shopping malls scattered throughout the Klang Valley. This requirement presents an unnecessary barrier to workers of other races from getting paid employment and being part of a multiracial workforce. Although we are strong advocates of a national education system that includes the teaching of languages other than Bahasa and English, as exemplified by Switzerland’s quadrilingual policy, we are uncomfortable with the notion of excluding people who do not speak a certain language in job vacancies.

If the business is culture-specific, such as Chinese restaurants, gambling outlets, tea or traditional medicine shops, then the need for a Chinese-speaking shop assistant would be valid, as the products and terminology related to the business would be more conveniently communicated in Chinese. This applies to all culture-specific commercial activities, be they Malay, Chinese or Indian. However, if the business in question is a contemporary, Western-style fashion outlet, whose demographic targets Malaysian youths who have all been taught in at least two languages, namely Bahasa and English, then it is not essential to employ language-specific shop assistants, regardless of the racial background of the clientele.

We view this exclusionist policy as a subtle form of racial (or rather, linguistic) discrimination, and we are deeply disturbed by this development.