Expatriates’ Welfare and Oversees Employment Minister Engr Khandker Mosharraf Hossain on Monday said the government will take all necessary steps to bring back the Bangladeshi workers detained in Malaysia.
Talking to UNB, he, however, said the Malaysian government will take legal action against the Bangladeshi expatriates in Malaysia who have been detained for violating immigrant rules.
As of Monday, the Malaysian authorities in a nationwide crackdown on unwanted foreigners that started on Sunday arrested 2433 illegal immigrants, including 387 Bangladeshis.
Asked what initiatives the government has taken to bring back the detained Bangladeshis, the minister said the detained expatriates mostly did not appeal to Bangladesh Mission in Kuala Lumpur for enlisting their names and renewing their immigrant status, though they were given many chances.
“We requested them repeatedly in the past to legalize their immigrant status,” he said over phone on Monday evening.
Engr Khandaker Mosharraf said that during his recent visit to Malaysia he requested the Kuala Lumpur government for allowing 15 days to the illegal Bangladeshi workers after detention to show their passports and other documents.
He said he also assured the Malaysian government that “if we can identify that any Bangladeshi worker was staying illegally in Malaysia and they have no valid documents, we will bring back them home through out-pass cards after communicating with there relatives here.”
About the crackdown, Malaysian Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Indonesian nationals made up the biggest number of illegal immigrants arrested, accounting for 717, followed by Myanmar nationals (555), Bangladesh nationals (387) and Nepal nationals (229), according to Malaysian media reports.
“We’ll take action in accordance with the principles of international law, including that demanded by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), to avoid human trafficking,” he said.
The Malaysian minister said the ministry would continue to work with the diplomatic missions of the countries which are a source of immigrant workers to facilitate the issuing of permits.
Dr Ahmad Zahid gave the assurance that the Immigration Department was prepared to approve applications for permits if the applicants adhered to rules and the proper channel.
Source: UNBConnect
