Sabah Hopes All MPs Will Support the State Labour Ordinance (amendment)

KOTA KINABALU, Sept 5 – The Sabah Government hopes that the second reading of the Sabah Labour Ordinance Amendment Bill 2024, in the Dewan Rakyat next October, will receive the support of all members of Parliament.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said the Sabah Civil Service Amendment Bill 2024 was tabled for first reading in the Dewan Rakyat on July 17. He said the change would provide clear and structured guidance to Sabah workers and employees, thereby promoting better industrial relations in a way that is fair and appropriate for all stakeholders.

“The State Government fully supported the amendment of the Act as one of the 16 points of the amendment related to human rights, labour rights and elimination of discrimination.

“The amendment introduced offenses and penalties for employers or anyone involved in human trafficking, forced labour and child labour,” he said today. The Chief Minister said this during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Convention on Combating People and Forced Crime, which was attended by Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

He said this coincided with the government’s decision to ratify the International Labour Organization (ILO) Protocol 29, strengthening Malaysia’s determination to eradicate forced labour. He stressed that human trafficking and crime that enforcement officers will carefully address in the current laws and policies, to ensure that these problems are not serious at the national and international level.

The president also showed the strong position of the state in the fight against crime, stressing that cooperation and good coordination between federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations and local authorities are very important in this struggle.

“Sabah’s geographic location, sharing its borders with Indonesia and the Philippines, facilitates cross-border travel, which in turn increases the state’s opportunities for immigration, human trafficking and labour,” he said.