HR Ministry opens probe into slave labour claims against contractor for Sony, Panasonic and Daikin

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 — The Manpower Department has opened investigation papers into allegations of slave labour practices by Kawaguchi Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, the contractor that supplies components to Japanese electronics giants Sony, Panasonic, and Daikin.

Malay Mail understands that the company’s office was raided by the Port Klang Manpower Office (PTK) on September 3 following a complaint by a migrant worker rights activist, Andy Hall, who has worked on multiple cases of foreign worker abuses in the country.

Following the raid, the department said it found evidence that Kawaguchi has not been paying over 200 of their Bangladeshi workforce since April this year. The department also found that the company had withheld the workers’ passports, which is a violation of labour laws and an indicator of forced labour practices.

“PTK Port Klang had carried out an investigation on the premises on 3.9.2024 and found that (Andy Hall’s) complaints had basis.

The employer had failed to pay their workers’ salaries from April to August 2024 as well as discovering that passports of their foreign workers had been withheld,” the office said in an internal memo sighted by Malay Mail.

The investigations into Kawaguchi Manufacturing is the latest in the series of foreign worker-exploitation cases involving Malaysian contractors and companies, several of which have been flagged for abuses that activists alleged to amount to “modern day slavery”.

Some of these companies have been slapped with export bans while Malaysia has had its rating downgraded to the lowest tiers by the US Department’s anti-human trafficking report.

The plight of Kawaguchi’s foreign workforce was first brought to attention in late July by the Bangladeshi press. Some of the workers who were interviewed said they were forced to work for 12 hours despite not being paid.

Many were afraid to speak up because their passports were withheld.

Malay Mail understands that the company’s top management has been served the F Form and was summoned to appear before PTK officers on September 5, alongside all the relevant documents. It is unclear what the outcome was.

Meanwhile, Kawaguchi’s clients have been notified, according to Human Resources Ministry sources, and Hall told Malay Mail that the three companies responded saying they were not aware about what’s happening at Kawaguchi.

Sony EMCS (Malaysia) subsequently responded to Malay Mail to say it was “currently looking into the matter”.

PTK Port Klang has asked representatives from the companies to meet on September 12, a source familiar with the matter said.

Kawaguchi is an international plastic injection molding company and supplies among others plastic components for electronic products such as LCD televisions and microwaves.

Hall alleged working conditions in the Malaysian plastic production industry are rife with practices amounting to migrant forced labour.

“The Malaysian based plastics industry, which is indeed an essential part of many international companies and brands globally supply chains and finished products, currently consists of conditions prevalent for systemic migrant forced labour,” the activist said.

“The industry is surely a primary target for the US CBP and its forced labour related trade enforcement sanctions in the future if things don’t improve.”

Malay Mail could not independently verify Hall’s allegations.

* A previous version of the article contained an inaccuracy that has since been corrected.