Dhaka asked for an extension, after 17,000 Bangladeshi workers were stranded

PETALING JAYA: Bangladesh is appealing to Malaysia for nearly 17,000 Bangladeshi workers who have approved work visas, but missed the May 31 deadline to arrive in Malaysia, to be allowed to enter.

FMT reports, Shofiqur Rahman Choudry, Bangladesh’s expatriate welfare and overseas employment minister, called for a special period to be given once for these workers to enter Malaysia.

He will have a meeting with Malaysian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Haznah Md Hashim on Wednesday, he said.

Choudry said that he had appealed to Haznah two weeks ago to extend the deadline for the entry of workers, because ‘this problem was expected’.

He hoped the Malaysian government would consider the plight of workers ‘whose future depends on jobs in Kuala Lumpur’.

Otherwise, they will experience extreme hardship, he said, as many of them have spent their savings or borrowed money to pay agents for documentation.

He said the typhoon, lack of flights, and poor coordination of agents prevented many workers from going to Dhaka, then to Malaysia.

Choudry said all workers have visas with approved references from the Malaysian Immigration Department, as well as valid cards from the Bangladesh Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training, which are issued once the visas are approved and they are ready to travel.

Over the past week, agents and employers rushed to arrange the entry of workers from Bangladesh before the May 31 deadline set by the Malaysian government in January for workers to enter.

Workers were reportedly forced to overpay for their flights and meet high recruitment fee demands by unscrupulous agents.

Choudry said his ministry formed a six-member committee to investigate the allegations. Bangladesh Association of International Recruitment Agencies (Baira) may be responsible for this issue, he added.

“The association did not cooperate when we asked for a list of names to arrange flights. We will take action against the responsible parties,” he said.

However, he said, his ministry’s priority now is to ensure that the stranded workers can reach Malaysia as soon as possible.