Malaysian HC sets aside gag order on party, news portal supporting Bangladeshi migrants

Malaysian High Court has set aside a gag order on Malaysian Socialist Party (PSM), which has been supporting Bangladeshi migrants, and a news portal – MKini Dotcom, a news portal that has been reporting on their plights.

Two companies -- Beaks Construction Sdn Bhd and Suria Harmoni Resources Sdn Bhd – had filed a defamation suit on March 27 and obtained an injunction without notice on April 2 prohibiting PSM, its head of labour bureau Sivaranjani Manickam and MKini Dotcom from discussing, writing or publishing anything about the said companies.

PSM and Sivaranjani then appointed lawyers to resist the injunction, and along with two workers migrant workers filed affidavits explaining the facts and circumstances relating to the plight of the migrants.

In a judgement on April 19, Shah Alam High Court judge Noor Hayati Mat said Beaks Construction and Suria Harmoni Resources had failed to give full and frank disclosure of the specific facts that transpired between the parties before the ex parte injunction application, said PSM in a media statement.

The judge also said an interim injunction should not be granted if the defendants were to justify the alleged defamatory statements at the trial.

"Based on the factual matrix highlighted in the affidavits, the article published and the Facebook posting were not obviously untruthful," she said, adding that the companies had not satisfied the court that the defence was likely bound to fail.

Beaks Construction and Suria Harmoni recruited several hundred Bangladeshi workers from April to August last year. However, many of them complained that they were not provided jobs or wages. Even, their passports were also withheld.

PSM in the statement said it has been supporting migrant workers who find themselves in Malaysia without wages and without jobs, although they have job contracts guaranteeing payment of monthly minimum wages of RM 1500. They have become indebted as they borrowed money at high interest while some sold properties.

"Given the sorry state of affairs, PSM's actions have been to pursue legal channels with the relevant government agencies…these seemingly straightforward legal actions however had led to an aggressive response by Beaks and Suria Harmoni," the statement said.

Through the suit, Beaks and Suria Harmoni are attempting to use the court process to silence the voices of the media and human rights defenders from speaking out.

The companies represented in the court as reputable companies carrying out government projects to the value of more than Malaysian Ringgit 500 million.

PSM said if this is true, they should not use their power to seek court orders to gag the purveyors of legitimate grievances, but abide by the job contracts signed with the migrant workers.

PSM lead counsel Edmund Bon said setting aside of the injunction is a "resounding victory" for human rights advocates, defenders and vulnerable groups.

"Our clients will continue to fight for the rights of all workers even in the face of personal danger and persecution by those who hold great power and have immense resources.

The next date of hearing has been fixed for May 7.

There are nearly a million Bangladeshis in Malaysia and more than 400,000 were recruited since late 2022 under a syndicate of 100 recruiting agencies selected by Malaysia. Thousands of them, however, have been facing joblessness, non-payment or underpayment, said researchers.