Charles Santiago

Former Chairman for SPAN, Former MP for Klang (2008 - 2022), Malaysia. FB: @charlessantiago IG: @cs.charlessantiago TikTok: @charlessantiagoklang

[Shafiur Rahman @shafiur]

https://t.co/Esc5ohx3bH

The Arakan Army has turned the persecution of Rohingya into a system of government. It seizes their land, settles others on it, forces them to work and restricts their movement. All this is not the work of rogue soldiers. It is organised, bureaucratic persecution, carried out in the name of governance. Check out Ashley Kinseth's two-part article.

[Charles Santiago @mpklang]

And its 60 days long overdue. Clear lack of leadership.

[Azira 🇲🇾 🌺 @ladymissazira]

Charles wants more than masks in the haze of accountability @mpklang https://t.co/eGkqTTP0ry

[Charles Santiago @mpklang]

We cannot keep asking the public to bear the health costs of haze without investigating who is contributing to it. @anwaribrahim

9/9

[Charles Santiago @mpklang]

N95 boxes reportedly cost RM40-50, with other options at RM57-60. That is a significant expense for workers who may need protection throughout a prolonged haze episode.

4/

[Charles Santiago @mpklang]

Msian companies with investments in Kalimantan should voluntarily disclose their concession areas & relevant subsidiaries. The govt should cross-check these disclosures against fire hotspots and land records, investigate credible links to fires, & publish its findings.

8/

[Charles Santiago @mpklang]

Other countries already use air-quality thresholds to guide workplace precautions. Malaysia should translate its own guidelines into clear, enforceable action.

⁠3/

[Charles Santiago @mpklang]

STATEMENT:

Haze protection cannot stop at telling Msians to wear masks. Outdoor workers can spend 8hrs or more exposed to polluted air. Delivery riders, construction workers & traffic personnel cannot simply stay indoors. Who is responsible 4 protecting them? @datoramanan

1/

[Charles Santiago @mpklang]

⁠Malaysia needs clear thresholds for reducing or suspending outdoor work during severe haze, alongside mandatory workplace risk assessments, suitable respirators and alternative duties when exposure becomes unsafe.

2/

[Charles Santiago @mpklang]

Msia has repeatedly faced international scrutiny & embarrassment over its poor labour migration governance. And we simply cannot deport our way out of a system that we have failed to govern. So stop scapegoating migrant workers and start holding the powerful accountable.

10/10

[Charles Santiago @mpklang]

Migrant workers are NOT the root cause of this crisis. Greed, corruption, exploitative recruitment & unscrupulous employers are. Yet we continue to blame the worker while allowing the people who profit from exploitation to operate with impunity.

9/

[Charles Santiago @mpklang]

Enforce a mandatory employer-pays principle & sign binding bilateral labour agreements with labour-sending countries.

MPs like @RadziJidin need to understand the issues they speak about instead of playing to the gallery.

8/

[Charles Santiago @mpklang]

If we are serious about reducing irregular migration, we must dismantle the lucrative recruitment-fee system that generates mega profits at the expense of migrant workers & perpetuates the cycle of debt bondage.

7/

[Charles Santiago @mpklang]

Deploy the army? Then deploy it against the employers, including GLCs, that knowingly hire undocumented workers. Deploy it against recruitment cartels that manufacture debt bondage, & against corrupt officials who enable labour trafficking.

6/

[Charles Santiago @mpklang]

Recruitment agents who impose crippling fees, employers who exploit undocumented labour, & officials who enable trafficking are THE problem.

5/

[Charles Santiago @mpklang]

Even @RadziJidin himself has acknowledged that civil servants assist traffickers.

So why are we proposing to send soldiers after the workers? Why aren't we going after those who profit from & sustain this system?

4/

[Charles Santiago @mpklang]

The 2026 US Trafficking in Persons Report flags that not a single employment agency in Malaysia was prosecuted under the Private Employment Agencies Act between 2025 and 2026. More troublingly, it identifies official complicity as a significant concern.

3/

[Charles Santiago @mpklang]

Let’s start with recruitment. While our law caps placement fees at one month’s wage, which is RM1,700, Bangladeshi workers routinely pay recruitment fees between RM20K to RM30K. That is nearly 12-17 times the legal limit, forcing workers to overstay to recoup their payment.

2/

[Charles Santiago @mpklang]

STATEMENT: MPs Should Not Be Playing to The Gallery

@RadziJidin wants soldiers deployed to arrest undocumented migrants & clear immigration depots through mass deportations. But b4 we send in the army, we should ask: how does 🇲🇾 produce irregular migration in the 1st place?
1/

[malaysiakini.com @malaysiakini]

PARLIAMENT | An opposition lawmaker today urged Putrajaya to take a tougher stance on refugees and undocumented migrants, claiming the rakyat were fed up with what he described as a seemingly endless problem.

Debating the Budget 2027 Bill, Radzi Jidin (PN-Putrajaya) proposed a nationwide crackdown on undocumented migrants, including mobilising military personnel to assist the Immigration Department in arresting and deporting them.

"I suggest the government launch a massive nationwide operation to arrest undocumented migrants and deport them to their countries of origin.

"We know some may argue that the Immigration Department does not have enough personnel to carry out such an operation."

Full story: https://t.co/EQrps314tH