Kuching man latest victim of overseas job scam
KUCHING: A man from here who was promised a lucrative job in Maldives is the latest person from Sarawak to fall victim to an overseas job scam.
Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii who revealed this said he had just handled the case involving a man in his 40s, after he was made known of the victim’s plight at the beginning of this month.
He said the man was promised a lucrative job in Maldives but when he got there, the job did not turn out to be what he expected.
On top of that, his passport was allegedly taken away and because of that he could not go back to Malaysia.
“It is also difficult for him to seek help as there is no Malaysian embassy in Maldives. The closest one is in Colombo, Sri Lanka. For him to go there, he must have proper documents, which were taken away from him by the agent. My office eventually sought help from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which contacted their consular in Colombo to render all the required assistance to the family. They managed to contact him and will provide him with the necessary documents and assistance so he can come home safely,” said Dr Yii.
He advised fellow Sarawakians who seek or are offered employment overseas to take extra precautions and fully ascertain the legitimacy of such offers before embarking on the journey. He added that last year alone, his office had dealt with several similar cases of Sarawakians and others falling victims to job scams in countries such as Liberia, Indonesia, Oman, Papua and even South Korea.
He said many other countries where Malaysians, including Sarawakians, travel to, wanting to find jobs with a promise of a lucrative pay.
“The main issue here is not just the lack of jobs in Sarawak, but rather the job quality with reasonable salary. To address that may take a long time and concentrated efforts from both federal and state governments.”
He advised would-be job seekers to check with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the validity of any job offers. He said their officers are stationed in almost every country, who can check the validity of companies, or jobs being offered.