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Tens of thousands recruited as expatriate workers were not able to reach Malaysia by the deadline for entry
Published : 05 Jun 2024, 05:24 PM
Overseas Employment Minister Shofiqur Rahman Choudhury has warned that no one responsible for over 30,000 Bangladeshi expatriate workers being unable to travel to Malaysia despite completing their formalities will be ‘spared’ of punishment.
He also spoke of compensation for those who were negatively affected by being unable to travel to Malaysia.
The state minister made the remarks to the media after a courtesy meeting with Malaysian High Commissioner Haznah Md Hashim on Wednesday.
He said, "We have formed an investigation committee of six members from the ministry. They will submit a report within seven days on who caused this problem, why the workers could not go... We will take action against those found guilty in the report by the inquiry committee.”
Shofiqur also said he had requested the high commissioner to take the 17,000 workers who have received visas to Malaysia and arrange work for them.
“The high commissioner will inform his government. We hope that they will try to aid us in our request."
"Our ministry will also consider those who have applied to go abroad, those who have prepared to go through various agencies, and those who have not received a visa. We are making arrangements to do what we can to compensate them. The prime minister is also very sincere about this.”
According to the Malaysian government, the last day of entry for Bangladeshi expatriate workers to travel to the country was May 31. No one can enter the country on a work visa after the deadline passed.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, with the help of some agencies, the fare on this route was hiked to several times the price, from Tk 30,000 to over Tk 100,000.
Amid much uncertainty about receiving plane tickets, many desperate to make the trip flocked to Dhaka airport on Friday after they were called by their agencies. The anxious crowd milled around the area as the day wore on and the tension in the air rose.
To try and ease the crisis, Biman Bangladesh ran an additional flight from Dhaka to Kuala Lumpur on Friday evening, but only 271 more passengers were able to make the trip on that plane.
That night hundreds of people walked away from the airport after a gruelling day of waiting with broken dreams.
According to data from BMET, the Expatriates’ Welfare Ministry approved 523,834 workers to travel to Malaysia as of May 21. Though it was not supposed to approve any others after that date, it did grant permission to another 1,112 afterwards.
BMET data says some 31,701 were not able to make the trip to Malaysia despite getting approvals.
The Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment has formed a six-member committee to investigate the cause of the crisis and was instructed to submit a report within seven working days.
A public notice from the ministry on Tuesday included instructions on how these aspiring expatriate workers could file complaints over the issue.
They had to submit their full information and their allegations accordingly by Jun 8, the notice said.
The claimant must send their name, full address, mobile number, the name of their recruiting agency, passport number, a copy of their Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training smart card, and any information and details relating to their allegations to the [email protected] address.
In response to questions from the media, High Commissioner Hashim said there was no opportunity to extend the deadline.
“The steps we have taken are already a lot. We also have to take workers from other countries.”
Asked on what basis he had asked for an extension if the option was closed, State Minister Shofiqur said:
“We are trying. Our ministry has sent a letter to the Malaysian government. They have said no, but we will keep trying. Is there any problem with trying?”
