2 Japanese Companies In Malaysia Demolished By Bangladeshi Migrant Workers, Allegedly Related To Exploitation

Illustration of mass action colored by demonstrators lighting flares or flares. (Pars Sahin-Unsplash)

JAKARTA - About 100 Bangladeshi workers who worked in Malaysian companies rallied on Monday, November 10.

Citing AP, this demonstration was held at the Ministry of Expteratist Welfare and Foreign Manpower in Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka.

They demand wages that have not been paid, fair compensation, and complete action by Malaysian employers.

This labor demonstration was initiated by the Bangladeshi migrant group 'Migrant Welfare Network' based in Malaysia and Bangladesh.

The demonstrators said the widespread ill treatment of migrant workers in Malaysia, one of the richest countries in Southeast Asia.

They also demanded unpaid wages and compensation for 431 Bangladeshi workers they say were exploited by two Malaysian, Mediceram and Kawaguchi Manufacturing companies.

When confirmed, the two Malaysian companies targeted this demonstration did not provide further comment.

Many factories in Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries rely on migrant workers, often from Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Nepal, to fill labor-intensive work in the fields of manufacturing, plantations, or construction.

Local workers usually avoid such jobs due to poor working conditions and low wages.

The Migrant Welfare Network urges Bangladesh and Malaysia authorities as well as international companies providing migrant workers to take immediate action on the allegations voiced by these demonstrators.

There Is Complaints

The group in its statement today claimed that there was a complaint to the Malaysian Government against Australian company Ansell regarding allegations of forced labor and negligence.

Ansell is known to be Mediceram's main customer, who produces gloves for medical, industrial and household purposes.

Separate complaints were also filed against Kawaguchi, who supplies plastic components to major Japanese companies, including the Sony Group.

In May 2025, about 280 Bangladeshi migrant workers working in Kawaguchi demanded hundreds of thousands of dollars in the form of arrears and other money owed to them after the company closed five months earlier.

Workers at the Kawaguchi factory in Port Klang filed complaints in Malaysia and Bangladesh. They claim the company has withheld their wages for eight months before finally closing, after Sony and Panasonic Holdings Corp., two of Kawaguchi's main customers, stopped orders in response to accusations of mistreatment of workers.

"Initially, they paid their salary in installments, meaning they gave 500'1000 ringgit (about 120'240 dollars) per month as a meal fee," said former Kawaguchi employee Omar Faruk, who started working at the company in 2022.

After collecting salaries, the company began to consider closing. Then, we filed a complaint with the Bangladesh High Commission in Malaysia.

Harun Or Rasid Liton, who works at Mediceram, accused the company of not paying despite an order from the Malaysian Labor Court.

"The court decided that the company would pay us 1,000 ringgit per month, but the company only paid the first installment and then stopped paying," he said.

"Then, we were forced to return to Bangladesh. Now we are facing serious difficulties in supporting our families," he continued.

In addition, there have been many reports of cases of alleged abuse against Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia, and disputes between employees and companies are suspected of being due to diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and Malaysia.

Labor rights groups have demanded strict supervision of groups of recruiting agents and ruling intermediaries who monopolize such work.