by DOUGLAS MARTIN
Irene Fernandez in 2012. PHOTO/Rahman Roslan/The New York Times
Irene Fernandez, a champion of the oppressed in Malaysia whose indefatigable advocacy for better treatment of foreign migrant workers prompted her government to denounce her as a traitor and human rights groups to shower her with awards, died on March 25 in Serdang, Malaysia. She was 67.
The cause was heart failure, Human Rights Watch said.
Ms. Fernandez abandoned a career as a teacher in her early 20s to fight for social causes. She helped organize the first textile workers union in Malaysia and campaigned for women’s rights, improved consumer education and safer pesticides.
Her signature crusade was for the rights of the poorest and most marginalized people in her relatively rich country: the migrant workers who do the dirty, ill-paying jobs most native Malaysians shun. Foreigners account for more than 16 percent of the work force in a population of 29 million people, and more than half the foreigners are in the country illegally.
Coming from Indonesia, the Philippines and other Asian nations, these illegal workers toil in homes and at palm oil plantations and construction sites. Ms. Fernandez unearthed evidence of their being beaten and nearly starved. In an interview with The New York Times in 2012, she characterized the situation as “slavery days coming back.”
As much as their labors are needed, the illegal workers irritate many Malaysians, as their counterparts do in many countries. Some Malaysians join government-sanctioned volunteer groups to seek them out.
The New York Times for more
(Thanks to Robin Khundkar)