Many Bangladeshis with valid visas unemployed in Malaysia

Munima Sultana from | Published: March 15, 2009 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Kuala Lumpur

A large number of the Bangladeshi workers who have come to Malaysia with valid calling visas are either unemployed or underemployed.

Bangladeshi workers living in different parts of Kuala Lumpur, including 'Bangla Town' in Kota Raya, while talking to this correspondent claimed that nearly 80 per cent of them were either unemployed or underemployed.

They said main jobless workers are unable to go back home due to financial constraints as well as lack of travelling documents which the recruiting agents have kept with them.

The workers alleged that many employers were very irregular in the payment of their monthly wages, subjecting them to severe financial hardship.

Talking to the FE, labour counsellor of the Bangladesh High Commission in Malaysia Talat Mahmud Khan said that recent economic recession has left a large number of migrant workers unemployed or underemployed. He admitted that many Bangladeshi workers were also among them.

The Home Ministry of Malaysia, KHEDN, recently took a decision to revoke calling visas for more than 55,000 Bangladeshis approved in 2007 as the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) considered their arrival would worsen the recession- hit Malaysian job market.

In a report of Bernama published in "The Sun" on March 10, MTUC Vice President A Balasubramanium said thousands of jobs are now under threat in Malaysia because of the global recession and entry of more foreign workers would worsen the situation.

Bangladesh however has urged the Malaysian government to reconsider the decision and suggested employing these workers in the agricultural sector.

But the workers alleged that the problem relating to employment of Bangladesh workers has been created because of the entry of workers more than the jobs are now in offer.

"If a company needs 20 workers, 80 people have been brought into Malaysia leaving 60 of them unemployed. Some workers are now sharing work among them," said Sharif, an aggrieved worker said blaming the recruiting agencies for creating such a difficult situation.

Sharif who came to Kula Lumpur six months back said he does not get work for 15 days a month.

According to Bangladesh High Commission in KL, 372,000 Bangladeshi skilled and semi-skilled people have come to Malaysia since the Malaysian authorities opened calling and outsourcing visas for Bangladeshi workers in 2006.

Preferring anonymity, an official of the Bangladesh High Commission admitted that there existed a huge gap between the demand for, and supply of, manpower.

He said calling so far made by the Malaysian Home Ministry upon recommendations from the companies concerned was not based on actual demand in construction, manufacturing and services sectors. He also blamed the Bangladeshi recruiting agents who had visited different factories for making wrong assessment.

However, aggrieved workers alleged that with the help of Bangladesh High Commission here and some unscrupulous Malaysian officials and calling companies, the recruiting agencies of Bangladesh had sent workers to Malaysia in excess of the demand just to earn money.

"They have allured us and misguided us to come here paying more than Tk 0.25 million each," said Sazzad, another Bangladeshi worker.

Another worker Siraj in Woodland area said he considered himself lucky since he gets his monthly salary of 1000 Ringit regularly. But, he said, this is not the situation for many workers.