Migrant worker activism in Singapore and Malaysia: Freedom of association and the role of the state

Abstract

The political space given to non-governmental organizations to respond to the economic and legal problems experienced by migrant workers is heavily restricted in Malaysia and Singapore. The relative political weakness of their respective civil societies has been the focus of some research, albeit to a lesser extent with specific reference to their labor sectors, raising questions on what this implies for migrant labor activism. By exploring the differences and similarities across the various organizations involved in migrant worker issues in-country as well as across countries, this paper investigates the role of state authoritarianism in shaping the landscape of migrant labor activism in Malaysia and Singapore. It assesses the pressure non-union civil society organizations can bring to bear on both the state-sponsored and traditional labor movement organizations which have been co-opted by the state to a greater or lesser extent in both Malaysia and Singapore. It is argued that it is in fact migrant labor and the growing political activism, especially transnational activism, which contributes or may contribute to the reinvigoration of labor activism in general by highlighting the many-folded problems of foreign workers.