PUCHONG, Dec 10 — The Ministry of Human Resources has instructed the Department of Manpower (JTK) to investigate a recent report of alleged forced labour among employees of electronic manufacturing service provider ATA IMS Bhd.

Its minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan said he had visited the factory located in Johor yesterday and was satisfied with the report the company submitted to him.

"Personally, I am satisfied with the explanation of ATA IMS. I also saw the work environment and the factory conditions were all in order, and some statements (reports) of forced labour were misinterpreted, but I instructed JTK to investigate in depth,” he told reporters after the closing ceremony of job@mykomuniti at Pangsapuri Enggang in Bandar Kinrara here yesterday.

On the job@mykomuniti programme organised by the Malaysian Socio-Welfare Community Association (MyKomunity), Saravanan said the effort was in line with the government’s efforts to provide more employment opportunities, especially to urban residents as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"I have instructed the Social Security Organisation to see how effective this programme is. If successful we will work with MyKomunity to hold it in cities throughout the country,” he said.

Job@mykomuniti, which is a pilot project, has successfully placed jobs for 250 job seekers from the B40 community to work in the blue collar sector in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. — Bernama