Kuala lumpur: Human Resource Minister Steven Sim stated that the Shah Alam High Court's ruling on unpaid wages to foreign workers serves as a clear warning to employers about the serious breach of Malaysia's labour laws in withholding salaries.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the Human Resource Ministry (KESUMA) is firm in its stance, refusing to compromise with any party that denies workers their fundamental rights. The Shah Alam High Court upheld a Labour Court ruling from November 8, 2024, awarding over RM760,000 in back pay to 93 migrant workers who were left stranded without employment upon their arrival in Malaysia in 2023.

"This ruling indirectly reaffirms KESUMA's stance that every employer who brings migrant workers into the country is obliged to pay their wages from the moment they arrive in Malaysia, even if they have not yet been assigned any tasks," Sim stated in a recent statement.

Sim emphasized that every foreign worker in Malaysia is entitled to receive wages, and employers cannot evade their responsibility by claiming there is no work available for them. "The principle is clear - if there are no jobs available, employers should not bring in foreign workers. However, once the workers have been recruited, it becomes the employer's duty to pay their wages," he added.

He also noted that all 93 affected foreign workers have since been successfully placed with new employers under the special employer exchange initiative, which is implemented by the Department of Labour Peninsular Malaysia under KESUMA.