Bleak Festival of Light for B40 Malaysian journos as owner cheats on their rightful wages

(FM) : Letter to editor

SEVERAL Hindu journalists of a local online portal are staring at a bleak Deepavali as their employer has gone rogue in terms of settling their wages.

They are left wondering during the Festival of Light what is the point of enabling the good to triumph over evil or exposing wrongdoings when they themselves are not protected by the relevant authorities.

That in this day and age Malaysian workers have to suffer the ignominy of not having their salaries paid is like we are somewhere in the African continent.

Or perhaps, the journalists are foot soldiers in Africa where the gun is definitely mightier than the pen.

Certainty, we should not qualify as an associate member of the BRICS trade bloc if a simple account of employers paying the salaries of their employees cannot be executed.

What’s the point of joining BRICS if the basic rights of Malaysian workers cannot be enforced and protected?

Our working class just want to earn a decent living with their rights firmly protected they are uninterested in how friendly we are with China or Russia or the US.

Again, what’s the point of joining BRICS if journalists the so-called defender of rights cannot even have adequate money to put food on their family’s table.

Unscrupulous owner

Besides the customary salaries, also missing are statutory contributions which have exceeded 18 months for some of the journalists.

The message getting across is not just why salaries are not paid but how come the authorities allow an errant employer to continue operating without any censure.

If the authorities had reacted earlier, the employer may be compelled to cease operating and offer within the law, a severance package.

Those affected may yet enjoy Deepavali, knowing that the future is in their own hands unlike now where they cannot resign because they want their backdated dues paid.

Life then could go on despite how depressing the media industry has become.

How come up to several months of statutory contributions went unsettled and the likes of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), Social Security Organisation (SOSCO) and the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) just wait by the wayside.

Adding salt to the wound is that the victims are none other than journalists a group of employees one would figure is supposed to report on such gross disrespect of the law.

Yes, employers may be given a reprieve of not settling statutory claims for a few months if there are operating hiccups such as cash flow issues but to allow it to linger on for several months is sheer irresponsibility on the part of the statutory bodies.

And where is the Madani concept of accountability in the whole scheme of things? Where is the Human Resources Minister who is adept in reciting poetry?

This has happened under his watch; he should be busy enforcing his key performance index (KPI) instead of waiting for an occasion to recite poems.

This is the long-standing problem in the country – the taxpayer monies spent on agencies and authorities who are supposed to safeguard Malaysians but end up doing nothing.

Take the 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Bhd) monster financial crises as an example – how come Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) allowed the movement of funds without querying the banks or the account holders.

In the end, the country ends up in mounting debt. The banks and the individuals should be sued for victimising an entire nation.

Before the candles are lit as a symbol of good ousting evil, let us pray that no other Malaysian worker needs to endure what these unfortunate journalists are facing.

Do not make the struggle of Malaysian journalists in this news portal yesterday’s news.

Source : Focusmalaysia