50,000 Rohingyas working abroad with BD passports: Minister

CHITTAGONG, Aug 13: Minister for Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Nurul Islam BSc said on Thursday that over 50,000 Rohingyas have gone abroad on Bangladeshi passports.
The Minister asked all concerned including the UP and Upazila chairmen and the passport authorities not to issue passports to the Rohingyas.
The Minister made the comments while exchanging views with journalists at a local hotel in the port city after taking charge of the ministry. Awami League (AL) leaders Ishaq Meah, former mayor ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury, Nurul Alam Chowdhury, Chittagong Zila Parishad administrator MA Salam, Chittagong Development Authority chairman Abdus Salam and AL leader Mafizur Rahman were present at the views exchange meeting.
"As far as I am informed, over 50,000 Rohingyas are working abroad with the Bangladeshi passports. Those were our jobs but they have grabbed our jobs with the help of a section of our UP and Upazila chairmen," he said adding that those elected representatives are taking Tk 2,000 to Tk 10,000 for issuing each nationality certificate to the Rohingyas.
These Rohingyas are engaged in different criminal activities in foreign countries but those countries are blaming the Bangladeshis as they bear passports of our country, he said.
The Minister said two teams from Malaysia recently met him in his ministry and said people are going to Malaysia illegally. It has been estimated that one needs Tk 60,000 only to go to Malaysia legally.
He emphasised on sending skilled workforce in different countries including Malaysia and said that there are enormous employments for the skilled workforce in Saudi Arabia and Australia. The non-skilled cannot survive with what they get, he said.
He said that the Expatriates Welfare Bank should be turned into scheduled banks so that the relatives living in the country could draw the money sent by their near and dear ones freely without expenditure.
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