Thematic analysis was employed for data analysis following the six-step approach proposed by Braun and Clarke [55]. The initial step involved familiarizing with the data through repeated reading and note-taking, facilitating the creation of a timeline detailing events related to government policy actions directed towards migrant workers during the study period. Subsequently, in the second step, the content of each government policy and its implications for migrant workers were extracted and summarized, aligning with the research questions. Moving to the third step, open coding was used to generate codes deductively from the data, guided by the research questions’ focus on identifying the government’s policy responses to migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on this, themes emerged and were reviewed in relation to the coded extracts and the entire dataset. Finally, the themes were defined and named to encapsulate the overarching narrative evident in the data, culminating in the composition of the analysis.

This review sought to identify the government’s policy responses toward migrants with regard to COVID-19 and lessons that could be learned for future pandemic preparedness, especially in terms of migrant health policy. The government’s policy and legislative responses directed toward migrant workers were categorized into the following three overarching themes:

1.

Incoherence in migrant worker policy and gaps in inter-ministerial coordination: This theme revolves around the absence of a coherent policy framework and the lack of coordination among various ministries during COVID-19. These factors resulted in vulnerabilities and fear among migrant workers, uncertainty among their employers, and hindered the Ministry of Health’s efforts to control the pandemic.

2.

Normalization of cheap and disposable migrant labor in neoliberal economic regimes: This theme highlights the significance of cheap and disposable migrant labor within pre-existing neoliberal economic structures. It underscores how these labor practices, prevalent before COVID-19, became normalized during the humanitarian crisis of the pandemic.

3.

Securitization of migration in the context of public health policies: This theme emphasizes the strengthening of migration securitization within the framework of public health policies designed to curb COVID-19 transmission. This approach led to the widespread arrest and detention of migrants, the State’s absence of action regarding xenophobic hate speech directed at migrants, and the emergence of avoidable COVID-19 clusters in detention centres.

Incoherence in migrant worker policy and gaps in inter-ministerial coordination

As illustrated in Table 1 and this section, the examination of the government’s policy responses toward migrant workers reveals an inconsistent and poorly coordinated approach marked by divergent policies across different ministries and agencies, each operating under distinct conceptual frameworks and objectives, in their efforts to address the pandemic.

Table 1 Timeline of COVID-19 policies and legislation related to migrant workers

Initially, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin indicated that foreigners would be responsible for the costs of COVID-19 tests and treatment at government hospitals. However, aligning with a more equitable public health approach, the Ministry of Health later clarified that these services would be provided for free [56]. Regarding screening, the government agreed to subsidize employers for COVID-19 screening for documented foreign workers contributing to the Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) [57]. Nonetheless, starting in April 2020, when undocumented migrants hesitated to come forward for testing and treatment, the Ministry of Health reassured all migrant workers that they could access free COVID-19 care without fear of arrest. Contrary to this, the Immigration Department and the Ministry of Home Affairs initiated mass raids, arrests, and detention [58,59,60]. This reversal from their March 2020 stance not to arrest undocumented migrants resulted in avoidable COVID-19 clusters in overcrowded immigration detention centres [61].

A similar situation unfolded in 2021 when Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced that undocumented migrants could freely get vaccinated. However, the Home Minister subsequently reversed this stance, citing the need to safeguard citizens and migrants from a new wave of the virus [59]. This flip-flopping contributed to fear of arrest and vaccine hesitancy among undocumented migrants [62].

Likewise, the Recalibration Programs [63, 64] which aimed at facilitating the return of undocumented individuals pre-COVID-19 (Repatriation Recalibration Plan) and regularizing those who became undocumented due to pandemic-related layoffs (Labor Recalibration Plan) also yielded mixed messages and proved ineffective. Initially, in 2020, the immigration department announced that details regarding the Repatriation Recalibration Plan and the Labor Recalibration Plan would be communicated ‘from time to time’ [65], causing uncertainty about the program. Subsequently, in November 2021, the Home Minister announced that employers in the construction, manufacturing, plantation, and agriculture sectors could legally hire undocumented migrant workers under the Labor Recalibration Plan [66]. But, the Director-General of Immigration later clarified that this program was solely for undocumented workers held in immigration detention centers and that employers intending to hire them would be required to finance the repatriation of these detainees at a one-to-one ratio [67]. However, the Human Resources Minister specified that the policy was intended for foreign workers with valid documents who had lost their jobs due to their employers’ pandemic-related business closures, with no plans to legalize workers who had been undocumented prior to the pandemic [68]. Despite the government’s initial intent to manage these programs directly, recruiting agents and intermediaries soon began offering their services to migrant workers for fees reaching up to RM3,000 (approximately USD 631) [69]. Ultimately, the government acknowledged the program’s lack of success [70]. The government attributed this failure to the age limit requirement for workers to be below 45 years old [70]. However, migrant activists argued that the high cost of hiring a worker (approximately RM 4,000 or USD 952) during an economic downturn, coupled with mixed messages about the arrest and detention of undocumented workers, deterred employers and workers from participating in the program [71].

This lack of policy coherence across various government initiatives left migrants vulnerable, subjected them to heightened security measures by the State, and exposed them to increased xenophobic and racist hate speech on social media. Furthermore, it created uncertainty for employers grappling with severe labor shortages and economic losses. Surveys by the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (NCCIM) and other industry estimates revealed worker shortages in various sectors during the fourth quarter of 2021, including plantation (70,000), rubber glove manufacturing (25,000), furniture (30,000), construction (200,000), services (45,000), plastics (6,293) [72], cleaning services (68,000), and restaurants (30,000) [73]. While estimates varied among surveys, they all pointed to labor shortages, highlighting the adverse economic consequences of ad-hoc and fragmented policies for migrant workers. This predicament was exacerbated by the fact that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) constituted the majority of businesses in Malaysia, accounting for 98.5% of firms nationally [74] and contributing 38.3% to the country’s GDP and 48% of total employment in 2020 [75]. Markedly, the president of the SME Association of Malaysia noted that only 15% of migrant workers employed in this sector were documented, with the majority being undocumented, often hired without formal employment contracts or receiving only daily wages [76], highlighting the significant problems with the role of migration in the country’s development strategies.

Additionally, the lack of policy coherence hindered the Ministry of Health’s ability to effectively implement an evidence-based public health strategy aimed at combating the pandemic through comprehensive measures such as universal testing, treatment, and vaccination for COVID-19.

The above complex and perplexing situation reveals the presence of competing and conflicting interests and spheres of influence among the State, employers, and intermediaries in the migration industry, all of which play a significant role in shaping the risk and vulnerability of migrant workers to COVID-19.

Normalization of cheap and disposable migrant labor in neoliberal economic regimes during COVID-19

The salience of cheap and disposable migrant labor in neoliberal economic regimes which existed before COVID-19, became even more pronounced during the humanitarian crisis. As the economy faced challenges, migrant workers were among the first to be laid off [77]. Within a month of lockdowns, migrants were struggling to access food [29]. However, they were excluded from social protection and state-initiated financial assistance programs provided to citizens during the pandemic [5] without regard for their significant economic contributions to the economy [78] or their dire need during a humanitarian emergency.

Common complaints reported by migrant workers during the pandemic included unfair termination, unpaid wages, continuing nonessential work, and uncertainty about their employment status due to limited contact with employers, as noted by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) [79]. Domestic workers faced additional challenges as work and education moved online, resulting in increased responsibilities, longer hours, uncompensated overtime, limited time off, and difficulties sending remittances back home [79].

Moreover, although the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities (Amendment) Act 2019 (Act 446) initiated by the government aimed to improve access to safe housing, its enforcement was delayed, and migrant worker accommodations lacked robust monitoring during the pandemic. This resulted in over 90% of foreign workers in Malaysia residing in housing that did not comply with regulations [80]. Malaysian glove manufacturers who supplied 60% of the world’s gloves during the pandemic [81] and the construction sector faced scrutiny for their workers’ substandard living conditions. Top Glove, for example, became Malaysia’s largest COVID-19 cluster, with the majority of cases among its migrant workers. Workers reported overcrowded accommodations, limited sanitation facilities, and poor ventilation [82, 83]. Similar conditions were found on construction sites, with workers living in cramped containers under unsanitary conditions [84]. The national human rights institution of Malaysia, SUHAKAM, in monitoring the needs of vulnerable communities during COVID-19 reported that most migrant workers lived in overcrowded kongsi houses (makeshift housing for construction workers) with 40–80 other occupants [27].

Workplace safety was also inadequately regulated, leading to preventable “superspreader zones” [28]. Despite Ministry of Health advisories to companies regarding Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and preventive measures in the workplace [85], media reports exposed many companies that failed to implement recommended COVID-19 protocols such as sanitization, physical distancing, and mask-wearing [86]. Top Glove, for instance, faced criticism when a migrant worker revealed subpar safety measures and inconsistent enforcement of SOPs. Workers often felt compelled to continue working in these conditions due to debts owed to recruitment agents for their migration to Malaysia. Top Glove terminated the employment of the worker who raised concerns, further highlighting the challenges faced by these workers [82]. Investigations revealed the prevalence of forced labor and harsh working conditions in prominent factories during the pandemic [87, 88]. This issue gained international attention when the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (UCBP) banned the import of disposable rubber gloves from major companies like Top Glove, citing indicators of forced labor [88].

The work conditions in the glove-making industry before the pandemic were already a cause for concern. Investigative reports dating as far back to 2018 highlighted the prevalence of forced labor and deplorable working conditions within this sector. However, in July 2020, following an unscheduled visit, the Ministry of Human Resources cleared one of the companies implicated in the forced labor issue by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (UCBP). Interestingly, despite the ministry’s clearance, the company chose to compensate its workers who met certain criteria related to recruitment fees. This compensation amounted to a cumulative total of USD 40 million and was aimed at resolving the UCBP ban [89]. This sequence of events suggests that the poor work conditions and inadequate enforcement of workplace safety policies that existed in the glove-making industry before the COVID-19 pandemic played a significant role in exacerbating the health risks faced by migrant workers during the pandemic.

While countries such as Canada, Turkey, and Denmark proactively disseminated COVID-related information in the languages spoken by migrants [90], Malaysia did not provide health information about COVID-19 in the languages understood by its migrant population.

From the examples provided above it emerges that the exceptional circumstances of the COVID-19 crisis entrenched the normalization of the pre-existing neglect of migrant rights and protection, often rooted in their exceptional status as non-citizens.

Securitization of migration in the context of public health policies

The securitization of migration was a pre-existing phenomenon in Malaysia, but the advent of the pandemic provided an opportunity to further reinforce this securitization, especially in the context of health and COVID-19. Presented as an unprecedented global health crisis and aligning with the WHO's concept of public health security [91], COVID-19 justified the necessity for states to undertake proactive and reactive measures in line with the norm of health security.

The diverse operational interpretations of security, however, exhibited inconsistencies across ministries, as exemplified in this case. In March 2020, despite the then Defense Minister and later Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, initially reassuring undocumented migrants that they need not fear arrest due to the government’s primary focus on pandemic response [92], this position was reversed within less than a month. Three buildings housing migrant workers in central Kuala Lumpur were placed under total lockdown or an enhanced movement control order (EMCO) as part of targeted cluster identification to stem disease transmission [58], and mass raids and arrests began. Moreover, to prevent the virus from entering the country, various enforcement agencies, including the police, army, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Immigration Department, and the People’s Volunteers Corps (RELA), tightened land, sea, and air borders to prevent the possibility of undocumented migrants entering through illegal routes, known as ‘laluan tikus’ or rat lanes [93, 94]. Despite calls from rights groups and public health experts to cease the arrests, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob stated, ‘We arrest them because it’s against the law’ [61]. On October 26, 2020, the Home Ministry revealed that 756 children were being held at immigration detention centers nationwide, of which 405 were held without their parents or guardians [95]. As arrests continued in 2020, the National Human Rights Commission, Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia Malaysia’s (SUHAKAM), estimated that immigration detention centers, which could only accommodate 12,530 detainees, had exceeded their capacity by 20 percent, with as many as 15,163 detainees being held [96].

The contradictory statements and policy reversals regarding the arrest and detention of undocumented migrants during the peak of the pandemic gave rise to various public health issues. First, following mass arrests in April and May 2020, new clusters of coronavirus infections were detected at three immigration detention centers [97], with similar clusters continuing to emerge in other detention centers. The Bukit Jalil Immigration Detention Center cluster was the first to be detected primarily comprising migrant detainees who had come into contact with a COVID-19-positive case In one detention center, almost 40 percent of the detainees tested positive for COVID-19 [98]. The Ministry of Health identified immigration detention centers as ‘high-risk areas’ [38, 99], and targeted screening and sampling of detainees and staff commenced, as the rapid transmission of the disease was attributed to the overcrowded and confined conditions within these centers [100, 101]. These arrests also contributed to vaccine hesitancy among undocumented migrants [62] This hesitancy emerged as the Ministry of Health aimed to maximize vaccination coverage as a strategy to attain herd immunity, a crucial step in transitioning the nation toward endemicity.

COVID-19 also exposed and exacerbated overt xenophobia, racial discrimination, and ethnic biases in Malaysia undermining the effort to fight the pandemic in the country. Notably, the arrival of a boat carrying Rohingya asylum seekers in Malaysian waters in mid-April 2020, subsequently being turned away and escorted by two Navy vessels after providing sustenance to those on board [102], with the emergence of COVID-19 cases within detention centers, triggered a surge in hate speech targeting migrants, refugees [103] and human rights advocates advocating for their welfare [104]. Remarkably, despite this backdrop, the government remained conspicuously silent on the issue of hate speech and violent threats directed at migrants and refugees [105]. Furthermore, Reuters reported the existence of over 36 pages and groups, some linked to current and former Malaysian security officials, which contained discriminatory content directed towards Rohingya refugees and undocumented migrants [106]. In response to this concerning development on hate speech against migrants, the Director-General of Health, cautioned against healthcare discrimination targeting migrants [107].

Lessons learned

Based on the identified key issues related to policies concerning migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia, two important lessons emerge:

1.

The necessity for a paradigm shift in migration governance discourse.

2.

The importance of the Health in all Policies (HiAP) approach.

The necessity for a paradigm shift in the migration governance discourse

This imperative arises from the pre-existing disparities in the social determinants of health of migrants before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to unequal exposure to SARS-CoV-2. The problem originates from unquestioned neoliberal norms that underlie both migration and development. These norms idealize a ‘good migrant,’ regardless of their status or conditions, as someone who is ‘law-abiding, adaptable to market demands, and eager to contribute to the development of their country of origin’ [108] (p.434). Furthermore, the neoliberal norms of autonomy and individual responsibility that underlie both migration and development normalize the compelling of migrants to maintain their status and functioning even in situations characterized by weak labor and social protection policies or lax enforcement of policies and laws. This compels migrants to persevere under adverse conditions, often without adequate safeguards or recourse.

A recent International Organization for Migration (IOM) published study [109] that investigates the process of migrants becoming undocumented in Malaysia sheds light on the pivotal role played by exploitative employment conditions. These conditions encompass various issues, including inadequate wages and compensation, substandard living conditions, the absence of health and safety regulations and practices, both prior to and during the pandemic, and excessively long working hours. Additionally, deceptive practices carried out by recruitment agencies and employers further compound the problem. When migrants opt to leave such exploitative working conditions, they inadvertently transition into undocumented status because their residency and work permits are intricately tied to their employers under existing laws. Viewed from this perspective, the problem of undocumented or irregular migration is not primarily a security issue, but an administrative issue that can be solved with appropriate policies and mechanisms, although there are security dimensions to irregular migration. Effectively addressing these systemic disparities necessitates a fundamental shift towards the principles of structural justice in migration governance.

In light of the circumstances, it is imperative to reconsider the tagline of “safe, orderly, regular migration,” which was initially promoted by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), used in discourses on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and more recently adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a comprehensive and inclusive response to COVID-19 [90] (p.34). Instead, the appropriate policy approach should be ‘safe, just, and regular migration,’ as the absence of justice and respect for human rights jeopardizes human security and health everywhere. Without an internationally agreed-upon definition of safe and orderly migration [110], state-centric discourses surrounding these terms presume and reinforce subjectivities that prioritize regular migration as a prerequisite for safety and well-being in the context of migration. While regular migration is undoubtedly important, assuming safety in regular migration, viewed as orderly, can be disputed due to the fluidity of migration statuses, such as ‘regular’/‘irregular’ or ‘documented’/‘undocumented,’ during the migration process. Regular and orderly migration does not inherently guarantee the safety or health of migrants, particularly considering the framing and implementation of current migrant policies that create precariousness and risks, even for documented migrants, as this case study has demonstrated. When state policies disregard human rights, eschew inclusive approaches, and perpetuate inequalities, both the safety and health of migrant populations are compromised, even if their status is regular. COVID-19 has accentuated this reality most poignantly.

Thus, the establishment of sustainable pathways for migrants to pursue safe, just, and regular migration is crucial for safeguarding the health and well-being of both migrants and host populations. In the Malaysian context, this entails the development of a comprehensive and coherent migration policy that harmonizes and integrates diverse forms of mobility and administrative mechanisms tailored to different migrant categories. This approach also necessitates the reinforcement of workplace safety regulations and the protection of workers’ rights, including mechanisms for addressing wage theft and