The Invisible Workforce: Migrant Workers and the Exploitation We Choose to Ignore Modern Malaysia depends heavily on migrant workers, yet their struggles are often ignored. Across construction sites, factories, restaurants, plantations, and cleaning services, migrant workers perform some of the country’s hardest and most essential labour. They help sustain industries that keep the economy functioning, but despite their importance, they are frequently treated as invisible. Workers from countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, and Myanmar fill jobs that many locals avoid because of low wages, difficult conditions, and physical risk. While migrant workers are sometimes blamed for “taking jobs,” the reality is that many sectors struggle to attract local workers under current working conditions. Migrant labour exists not because the work is desirable, but because poverty and limited opportunities force many people to accept it. For some workers, exploitation begins bef...