Migration is a historic and multi-faceted phenomenon, involving humanitarian, human rights and demographic issues. It has deep economic, environmental and political implications. It generates many different legitimate and strongly held opinions. Not always the strongly held are legitimate. Not always the legitimate are strongly held. – Antonio Guterres (Secretary-General of the United Nations) Internal migration is …
Data is important for informed policy-making. But how is the data collected? What is its source? Is there a possibility that the data has been manipulated for political reasons? What is the narrative associated with a particular set of data? The long-term consequences of data collection and preservation could prove to be an infringement of …
The four main migrant-receiving states in ASEAN are Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei. Studies have found several areas of concern and room for improvement in their migration systems. Minimal data is available on Brunei’s migration system. There are common denominators for Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. All three states were identified to have overly rigid employment …
What does the future of work demand? Investment in human capital, social protection and revenue mobilisation. A provocative panel discussion with contrasting views. It is about time that non-standard employment is given due attention. The standard employment contract is an aspiration that is not completely applicable to our present gig economy. Whatever changes as a …
Weak data on migration does not have to mean inaction via policy. It is impractical to have a policy that is only evidence-based. Migration has to be understood regionally, not nationally. Internal migration cannot be isolated from regional and international migration. All stakeholders should be included migration policy-making processes as there are practical implications on …
Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs) in ASEAN facilitate intra-regional mobility of skilled labour from eight distinct categories – engineering services, nursing services, architectural services, dental practitioners, medical practitioners, accountancy services, tourism professionals and surveying professionals. Given the terms and conditions spelt out in the MRA frameworks, it is pertinent to note that this group of high-skilled …
More than 60% of ASEAN’s population is young and technology savvy. They are the future pool of labour in the region. They need to be trained for the jobs of tomorrow. It is not possible to predict the specific skills that the fourth industrial revolution will require. But it is essential to train the youth …
How can the transition from law to policy to implementation be ensured? How can regulatory systems in labour-sending countries ensure protection for their citizens across borders?
Eight of the ten ASEAN countries rely on agriculture – Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Their rural populations are especially vulnerable to climate change as they are directly dependent on food, water and energy security for survival. Deforestation, drought, sea-level rise, floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions and other natural disasters negatively impact …
Intermediaries in a system have the power of making it effective or creating a dysfunction. Unfortunately, profit-seeking private recruitment agencies, employers and informal recruitment agents adulterate the labour recruitment process for migrants. The World Bank’s 2017 study found that Vietnamese migrants incur huge debts, paying fees to agents in Vietnam, just to get an opportunity for …
Apart from civil society organisations, employers, commercial enterprises, academia and other non-state actors, migrant workers need to contribute to policy-making processes. There is a need for mechanisms to register their experiences (both positive and negative) in the host country. Migrants need an avenue to express their challenges and frustration in a timely fashion to the …
For ASEAN, a collective regional migration policy would mean that duplicate processes and fees between sending and receiving countries are eradicated; recruitment agencies can be closely monitored using one transparent policy as the benchmark; low-skilled migrants who are the majority, will be protected; with one common system facilitating the smooth flow of migrants and eradicating …
China is ASEAN’s largest trading partner. It has heavily invested in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar via loans, businesses, infrastructure and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This has resulted in numerous jobs being created in the less developed ASEAN states. The BRI will also increase connectivity and open doors for potential ASEAN migrants in search …
What needs to be done and how it needs to be done are at two ends of the policy implementation spectrum. Much research is centred on the ‘what’ and is lacking in the ‘how’. A policy-maker will have to consider the interplay of several factors, as well as the probable practical social, cultural, economic and political …
Research is the basis of knowledge. Yet despite technological advancement and Globalisation 4.0, many areas of research lack substantial and credible data. There is a lack of investment in collecting and maintaining data. There is a lack of political will in enforcing the need for data. This trait is not exclusive to less developed economies. …
Thanks for joining me! Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton