JEDDAH, 18 May 2007 — Two Malaysians, both employees of a company who arrived here at the invitation of a Saudi importer to sort out their trade dispute, remain stranded for over four months not knowing when they would return home.
“It is a trade dispute, a private dispute, and we at the consulate cannot do anything about it. It is for the two companies to sort out their differences,” Malaysian Trade Commissioner Naim Abdul Rahman told Arab News yesterday.
According to information available, the dispute involved an amount of $240,000, which the Saudi company claimed its Malaysian counterpart owed. This included $116,000, which was for undelivered oil filters. The remainder was for brake pads ordered by the Saudi company which it claimed was of substandard quality.
“We can only act as a mediator and the two companies must do something to end the dispute,” he said.
The Malaysian Consulate General has provided accommodation to the two nationals — Francis Ng Wai Kong and Victor Hoo Kim Swee — for over three months. Recently, they were asked to find their own place.
Speaking to Arab News from their private location, Francis said: “We have even referred the matter to a lawyer here, but so far there has been no success. We just want the concerned authorities to help retrieve our passports from the local sponsor. We have remained trapped here for months as our passports have been taken away, which we condemn as an unpardonable act.”
Meanwhile, Cheah Mun Yee, wife of Francis Ng Wai Kon, has pleaded with the media and other concerned people to help her husband return to Kuala Lumpur.
“I am at my wit’s end. I do not know what to do and am worried about my husband’s well-being,” said Cheah, a medical record supervisor.
Cheah said she had even pleaded with the company, which her husband worked for, to do something but to no avail. “I was told that they could not do anything. You cannot imagine my suffering. I know nothing about the dispute and my husband was the company’s employee. It is unfair for them to treat him like that,” she said in a message to Arab News.
