Malaysia is one of Asia's biggest employers of foreign labour. But recently, cases of deaths, abuse and forced labour have come to light. What is going on? Who is protecting these migrant workers?
Talking to the news agency at his residence yesterday, Malaysian High Commissioner
in Dhaka Abdul Malek Bin Abdul Aziz said the Malaysian government is taking
measures to address the problems recently faced by the Bangladeshi workers on
their arrival at Kuala Lumpur.
<p>Under the measures, companies concerned will have to pick up Bangladeshi workers
within 70-72 hours on their arrival at Kuala Lumpur airport. Moreover, before
the workers’ departure from Dhaka they will have to get the “confirmation”
from their respective companies in Malaysia.</p>
<p>The high commissioner said earlier recruiting agents in Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur
recruited and received the workers without proper knowledge.</p>
<p>Now, he said, officials of Malaysian Human Resource Department visit the respective
companies to check if they have confirmed the new recruitment of workers for
their companies to stop recurrence of unpleasant situation.</p>
<p>“So far, there is no problem now,” the envoy said, adding that around
200,000 of the Bangladesh workers already arrived in Malaysia and the remaining
100,000 are in the process for departure.</p>
<p>The Malaysian government had approved an initial intake of 300,000 workers
from Bangladesh.</p>
<p>The workers are employed in manufacturing, plantation and service sectors.</p>
<p>On October 4, Malaysia banned fresh recruitment of Bangladeshi workers after
hundreds of them were stranded at Kuala Lumpur airport because their employers
failed to collect them promptly.</p>
<p><i>Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=10991</i>
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