Exercise due diligence before accepting jobs overseas, advises MP

SIBU: Sarawakians who seek or are offered employment opportunities abroad need to fully ascertain whether the job on offer is legitimate or otherwise.

Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii said one of the best ways for them to do so is to check with the Foreign Affairs Ministry at Wisma Putra in Putrajaya.

He said Wisma Putra has embassies in almost every country in the world that can help to check the legitimacy of a particular company, job and salary being offered.

“Wisma Putra is very concerned with the increasing number of job scam cases involving Malaysians.

“In fact, I am getting more information from Wisma Putra to find out whether there are any more Sarawakian job scam victims overseas, and we will work to get them back home,” he said upon arriving here Monday night with the eight Sarawakians who were stranded in Liberia as a result of a jobs scam.

On the scam which snared the eight, Dr Yii said the victims had been promised a monthly salary of between RM8,000 and RM9,000.

“They realised it was a scam when a month went by and they were still without a job. We are very grateful to the Foreign Affairs Ministry for its swift action in negotiating the repatriation of the eight individuals.”

According to him, the visas of the eight victims had already expired, meaning the Liberian government could have arrested and imprisoned them.

Meanwhile, Pelawan assemblyman David Wong there must be ‘something wrong’ that Sarawakians have to resort to seeking their fortune in lessdeveloped countries.

He believes that unemployment or lack of decent job opportunities, particularly in the central region of Sarawak, could be one of the reasons why locals are willing accept job offers overseas, even if it means having to travel to far-off countries.