A/HRC/44/40/Add.3 Paragraph 58 Labor protections appear widely unenforced and the situation seems not to have improved under the new government. With legal status tied to employers, an exploited migrant worker faces an unenviable decision: remain in the job and continue to suffer, or quit and become an irregular worker with no recourse and few rights. Unlike in many countries, irregular workers in Malaysia cannot enforce their rights without risking detention and deportation. Officials acknowledged that workers were “scared” to report violations of minimum wage protection due to fear of deportation, and that following any proceedings to enforce their rights, “[f]or sure, we will deport the foreigners.” In 2018, the government investigated and prosecuted fewer trafficking cases than in 2017, and the country was downgraded to the next-to-worst ranking by the United States’ Trafficking in Persons Report. The government has failed to make public a report by the Independent Committee on the Management of Foreign Workers, allegedly because the Cabinet disagrees with its recommendations. Comments from the Government of Malaysia: • The enforcement of labour protection carried out under the purview of the Department of Labour hinges upon proactive approach and reactive approach. The former consist of inspections (periodic, surprise and with notice), whilst the latter is carried out in response to receiving complaint. Whilst the Ministry understand that there are room for improvement with regard to the whole of labour inspection environment, to imply that it seems to not have improved would be misleading. According to statistics by the Department of Labour, total number of inspection carried out in year 2018 is 33,767, which is more than the previous year at 32,122. Paragraph 59 Women, who made up an estimated 20 percent of migrant workers in 2016, have been particularly abandoned. They are often employed as domestic workers, and are vulnerable to exploitation because they work in isolation in private homes without regular monitoring and because a carve out in Malaysia’s Employment Act 1955 excludes them from basic protections such as leave days, medical coverage, or working hour restrictions. Defending this carve out, officials pointed to voluntary guidelines, and shockingly reported that between 2014 and 2018, they had carried out only five prosecutions against employers for violations of the rights of domestic workers. Comments from the Government of Malaysia: • It is important to understand the principle and justification behind the exclusion of domestic worker in labour laws and the efforts that the Government has made to mitigate the negative impact. The nature of work for domestic worker is informal, and it involves private household residence. This makes inspection impossible and the determination of actual working hours remains hard to be assessed. Paragraph 60 Migrant workers are also excluded from many social services. Although those with legal status can in theory access public healthcare, they must pay a “foreigner” rate at public facilities, up to 40 times what a Malaysian citizen pays. Irregular migrant workers avoid public healthcare facilities altogether due to document checks and the potential involvement of immigration authorities. The government confirmed that undocumented people receiving treatment would subsequently be detained and deported. The children of migrant workers, whether brought across borders or born in Malaysia, face a difficult existence and are generally unable to enrol in public schools. According to the Global Detention Project, 885 children were detained in immigration detention in 2017, out of an estimated total of 47,092 immigrant detainees. Comments from the Government of Malaysia: • Ministry of health Malaysia provides health services to all including migrants, refugees and stateless people as below: 32