Documentation of foreign workers in Malaysia

Student Fadli Abdul Razak of the Faculty of Arts and Design, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia, produced a Systematic Documentation of life of foreign workers in Malaysia. It is a specific genre of documentation conducted between December 2009 and 30 April 2010. It recorded the life of foreign workers in Malaysia due to reports of abuse which had tarnished the image of Malaysian employers. The reports of abuse were mentioned in particular related to the 'Buluh Runcing' issues raised in November 2009. Hence, the objective of this project is to show how foreign workers in Malaysia lead their lives. Fadli stayed with 120 foreign workers in Shah Alam for 3 months. The foreign workers were from Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam. The subjects were interviewed and their daily routines were recorded on camera. The findings show that the issues of abuse highlighted by some citizens of Indonesia were not true. The documentary presents that foreign workers lead a life subject to their occupational contracts and adherence to Malaysian law. Hence, it can be concluded that Malaysia is a safe country for these workers. It is recommended that an online- video web documentation be exercised to provide authentic information to both Malaysian and Indonesian authorities.