November 24, 2020

Andrew Campbell 

The world’s leading manufacturer of rubber gloves, Top Glove Corp. in Malaysia, produces about one-quarter of the world’s supply at 90 billion rubber gloves a year and exports to 195 countries. Despite Top Glove's recent huge profit gains since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Malaysia’s authorities reported as many as 1,067 infection cases linking to Top Glove’s worker dormitories in the Teratai cluster in Selangor. 

According to local reports, Assemblyman Mohd Fakhrulrazi Mokhtar has demanded Top Glove's 28 factories located within Jalan Teratai in Meru of Klang to be temporarily closed. At its 28 factories in Klang, a town outside Kuala Lumpur, Top Glove reportedly hires more than 13,000 workers.

Meanwhile, Top Glove stated it has complied with demands from authorities and temporarily stopped production at 16 facilities in Klang since November 17 and the remaining 12 factories operating at minimal capacities. Top Glove operates 41 factories in Malaysia with many workers coming from Nepal and living in crowded dormitory complexes. The sanitary condition there may be the cause of the outbreak. On November 23, Malaysia's health ministry reported more than 5,800 workers were screened for coronavirus infection with 2,453 tested positives.

Photo:Webshot.