G2G failure fuels illegal immigration

Ziaur Rahman back from Malaysia | Published: December 20, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

Bangladeshis working in Malaysia are having a hard time, as many of them are trapped in forced labour with their passports confiscated to prevent them even from returning home.
Many of the immigrants--both legal and illegal--are apparently facing troubles and passing their days in utter distress for lack of skill, bargaining ability, language barrier and critical visa procedures.
Influx of undocumented workers and the Malaysian government's strict stance against illegal migrant workers, as part of its policy to free the country from the illegal migrants, made their lives even much more miserable.
There are widespread allegations that the embassy officials often remain busy with personal affairs instead of providing service to the expatriates-one of the prime tasks of the mission in Kuala Lumpur.
The expatriates were eagerly waiting for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to Malaysia which they believed would bring solutions to many of their problems, including giving legal status to the undocumented workers.
Earlier, around 0.3 million illegal Bangladeshis had been legalised after her visit in 2010. In 1996, the illegal expatriates were also given an opportunity to stay in Malaysia legally after her visit to the newly industrialized country.
But there's nothing tangible this time around for those left in the lurch, lamented a number of them.
The outcomes of the top-level trip were the signing of an agreement on "partial abolition of visa requirements" and a protocol amending the 2012 MoU on employment of workers.
The amendment will allow the recruitment of at least 12,000 Bangladeshi workers for Sarawak state of Malaysia.
"Unfortunately, the drive against illegal workers has become more severe nowadays even after the Prime Minister's visit," said one worker while talking to this correspondent at Booke Binte in Kuala Lumpur.
In a very recent development, Malaysian law-enforcement authorities rounded up 347 illegal immigrants, 77 of them Bangladeshis, in the Cameron Highlands between November 22 and December 13.
They were rounded up in an integrated operation mounted by the Police and the Malaysian Armed Forces. Not only the illegal ones, immigrants who failed to extend visa, waiting for visa extension or changed their job also fall victim to the hunt.
According to the ministry of expatriates' welfare, around 0.60 million (six lakh) Bangladeshis are in Malaysia, working in various sectors, mainly manufacturing, construction, plantation, agriculture and services.
However, as guessed by the expatriates, the figure might cross one million. And about sixty percent of them are reportedly living without proper documents.
They are spread across the country and concentrated mainly in hilly terrains of Cameron Highlands in Pehang, Klang Mero, Malacca and Malaysia's most important business and tourist city, Zohor Baru near Singapore border.
Cameron Highlands in Malaysia is famous as a high hilly, agro-tourism destination, as well as vegetables farming and plantation area.
Illegal migrants and immigrants without proper documents mainly reside in here under cover of high hills and mountains and the rocky terrain of the locality. Â
According to sources, thousands of people from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Vietnam and other nearby Asian countries travel to Malaysia every year illegally for work and take shelter in these inaccessible backwoods. Â
Their destiny is predestined: forced labour in Dickensian conditions.
They are allegedly forced to live in cramped and dangerous accommodation. Very often female workers have to experience sexual abuse by their supervisors, and migrants are forced to work excessive overtime under the threat of losing jobs.
Police very often raided shops, factories, farms, restaurants and houses in the highlands to find out illegal immigrants amid the crackdown.
After the recent raids, the law enforcers declared that they would further intensify the drive until there are zero illegal immigrants. Bangladeshis living in the area are now passing their days in anxieties.
Leaders of Bangladeshi community were supposed to discuss these issues with the Prime Minister during her visit, but many of them could not get in the Hotel Grand Hyatt where the PM held meeting with expatriate Bangladeshis due to strict security. Police even chased the Bangladeshis gathered in front of the hotel on December 2.
"At present huge number of Bangladeshis are passing there days in uncertainties. Many of them even could not reach the High Commission at Ampang to change their passport or collect necessary documents to avoid police persecution," said businessman Mazharul Islam while talking to this correspondent.
Thousands of Bangladeshis had applied for MRP (machine-readable passport) but many of them yet to get it. As a result, after expiry of the date, they become illegal immigrants and have no other option than going back to the country or hiding inside Malaysia.
According to Mazharul, a huge number of Bangladeshis are arriving in Malaysia almost every month, mostly allured by a clique of human traffickers with the hope of prospective jobs. Many of them arrive in Malaysia crossing by land from Thailand and are kept in holding houses in northern Malaysia, usually for a few days.
Some arrive through river routes. Several boats arrived directly in Malaysia from the Bay of Bengal this year. Nearly 300 people who arrived on three boats were arrested this year. Many of victims were charged excessive fees by recruitment agencies, both in their home countries and in Malaysia. Many of them have to borrow money for recruitment fees and got in trap of forced labour.
According to sources, illegal migration to Malaysia has increased manifold in recent days as the government has failed to send workers through legal channel.
"Many of the workers are arriving here with fake student visa which puts the genuine students in troubles in getting renewal their due status or other facilities," said Mamun who arrived two years ago under student visa and now do business at China Town in Kuala Lumpur.
"The problem will not be solved unless the government expedites the activities of the Bangladesh High Commission and speeds up the recruitment of workers under the government-to-government (G2G) system to this Southeast Asian nation," said another Bangladeshi immigrant who works at an Indian restaurant at Jalan Pudu.
Under terms of the new MoU, at least 12,000 Bangladeshi workers will get work opportunity in Sarawak, Malaysia. But Bangladeshis living in Malaysia questioned about the facilities they would get from the deals as the earlier G2G agreement for exporting workers did not work due to alleged non-cooperation from the Malaysian side.
At present, more than 1.4 million Bangladeshis are waiting for going to Malaysia as their registration had been completed two years back.
According to the Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry, as many as 0.1 million workers could be sent to Malaysia under the system each year. But only a total of 5,340 workers have left for Malaysia since March 2013 to October this year under the G2G scheme since the agreement was signed in October 2012.
mzrbd@yahoo.com