Malaysia detains more than 700 illegal Bangladeshi construction workers: report

More than 700 illegal migrants from Bangladesh are said to have been detained at Malaysia’s Port Dickson district.

They were among the 936 construction workers caught during raids conducted at building sites at Jima in the coastal town, according to Bernama news agency.

Of those picked up, 767 were Bangladeshi, 80 Pakistani, 50 Indians, 22 Indonesians, 13 Sri Lankans, three from Myanmar and one Nepalese.

They were caught for a variety of offences including illegal overstay and possession of false documents, Hapdzan Husaini, immigration director at Negri Sembilan state, told the state-run media.

Around 600,000 Bangladeshis are legally employed in various sectors in Malaysia, a key market for Bangladesh’s manpower export.

But actual numbers of Bangladeshis working in Malaysia are higher since many take help from human traffickers to travel to the Southeast Asian country to work in plantation or construction. 

Malaysian authorities began accepting renewal applications from February from workers who were staying behind despite the end of their employment period, but many did not come forward to seek extension of stay. 

After the end of renewal period, fresh operations were launched to catch illegal migrants. On the night of Feb 20, a total 971 Bangladeshis were caught.