3-6-2024 (KUALA LUMPUR) In a bid to safeguard the futures of thousands of its citizens, the Bangladeshi government has issued an urgent appeal to Malaysian authorities, requesting a special one-off period to allow the entry of approximately 17,000 Bangladeshi nationals who hold previously approved work visas but missed the recent May 31st deadline imposed by Malaysia.
The deadline, set by the Malaysian Home Affairs Ministry, triggered a surge in migrant worker arrivals last week, as employers scrambled to bring in their foreign labour force before the cutoff date. Malaysian authorities, anticipating the influx, worked tirelessly and deployed additional resources to clear the backlog of arrivals at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, according to manpower agents.
However, despite these efforts, tens of thousands of workers, including the 17,000 Bangladeshis, were unable to board flights to Malaysia before the deadline, according to the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA).
Recognizing the gravity of the situation, Shofiqur Rahman Choudhury, Bangladesh’s Minister of State for Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, has personally intervened, calling upon the Malaysian government to grant a special one-off period to allow these workers to enter the country. His plea was echoed by news outlet Free Malaysia Today (FMT), which reported on the issue.
Choudhury emphasized that the affected workers possess valid visas issued by Malaysia’s immigration department, as well as cards from Bangladesh’s Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training, which were granted after their Malaysian visas were approved. “These workers’ future depends on getting jobs in Kuala Lumpur,” he stressed, underscoring the urgency of the matter.
In a bid to find a resolution, Choudhury is scheduled to meet with the Malaysian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Mdm Haznah Md Hashim, on Wednesday (June 5) to discuss the plight of the stranded workers.
Furthermore, the minister revealed that Bangladeshi authorities are also investigating allegations that prospective workers have been subjected to exorbitant fees and overcharges by unscrupulous agents, compounding the challenges they face.
The recent influx of migrant workers in Malaysia was prompted by the government’s decision to advance the deadline for employers to bring in their foreign labour force from the end of September to May 31st, citing national and border security concerns.
According to the Malaysian immigration department, since May 22nd, an average of 2,500 migrant workers have been arriving daily, with the figure escalating to between 4,000 and 4,500 on May 27th – a stark contrast to the typical daily arrivals of 500 to 1,000 workers.
Malaysia’s reliance on foreign labour is undeniable, with employers from six sectors permitted to import workers from 15 countries, including Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and India. However, migrants from Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Nepal account for over three-quarters of the foreign workforce in the country.
Official statistics reveal that documented migrant workers constitute approximately 15 percent of Malaysia’s workforce, often filling the roles deemed as the “3D” – dirty, dangerous, and demeaning – jobs that are typically shunned by locals. When combined with undocumented workers, unofficial estimates suggest that the total number of migrant workers in Malaysia could reach a staggering 5.5 million.
