The report lists some incidents of sexual abuse, but most problems were related to unpaid salaries and harsh working conditions that the human rights group said were “close to bonded labor.” “Migrant workers come to Malaysia to escape poverty and to provide for their families. Once they arrive, however, many workers toil in conditions that amount to labor exploitation,” the report by the London-based group said.

Malaysia depends heavily on foreign laborers, who make up more than a fifth of the country's work force and fill jobs at construction sites, factories, restaurants, households and palm oil plantations that are shunned by Malaysians.

But lower-than-promised wages, unsafe working conditions, and arbitrary arrests and extortion are common, the rights group said.

An Amnesty International team visited Malaysia in July 2009 and interviewed more than 200 workers — both legal and illegal — for the report titled “Trapped — The Exploitation of Migrant Workers in Malaysia.” Malaysian Human Resource Minister S. Subramaniam denied foreign workers faced discrimination, saying they had the same rights as Malaysian workers. He said they could bring complaints of mistreatment to the Labor Department.

“The system of bringing in foreign workers is a well-established legal system. ... It is fair to everybody,” he said. “We offer the same kind of protection to foreigners (as to locals).

We don't protect employers who exploit workers.” In its report, Amnesty International urged Malaysia to increase workplace inspections, step up prosecution of those who mistreat workers, and stop employers or recruitment agents from holding workers' passports, which restricts their ability to move about.

“This report documents the widespread nature of exploitation in Malaysia ... in every sector of employment,” Michael Bochenek, the group's director of policy, said. “There is no effective system either of workplace inspection ... nor is there any effective redress for workers who want to bring individual complaints.” The group said it found that migrant workers, brought to Malaysia by agents, are often deceived about their pay, the type of job - some don't even get work — and their legal status in the country.

Some workers are also held at their workplace by threat or violence, the report said. Three women from Myanmar, working as tailors, recounted how their employers called gangsters to intimidate and force them to work throughout the night.

About 2 million foreigners work in Malaysia legally, and an estimated 1 million more work illegally. Most come from poorer Indonesia. Others are from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam.