TDS DESK:

Malaysia decided not to extend the deadline for Bangladeshi workers with approved work visas who missed the May 31 cut-off date to reach that country.

At the end of last month, agents and employers were rushing in Bangladeshi workers to meet the May 31 deadline set by the government in January for them to reach Malaysia.

In an FMT report last Sunday, Bangladesh’s minister of state for expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment, Shofiqur Rahman Choudhury, was quoted as calling for a special one-off extension period to be provided for almost 17,000 Bangladeshi workers who had missed the deadline.

In response, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail today said employers had been given sufficient time to bring in their foreign workers.

“For us, the May 31 deadline was reasonable. We do not intend to extend it for now,” Berita Harian quoted him as saying.

“When the date was set (in January), we took into account all the processes, starting from the approvals for the quotas (to) arranging health checks, visas and flight tickets.

“More than 20,000 foreign workers entered (the country) from May 28 to 31. Upon checking, we found that their visas were approved last November.

“If employers truly need foreign workers, if their visas were approved and they had tickets, then (they should have) come. Why wait until May 31?”

While Saifuddin said no new approvals would be granted to employers to bring in foreign workers, his ministry would consider each request based on its merits.

He was speaking to reporters while accompanying Penang governor Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak on a visit to Seberang Perai Prison in Nibong Tebal, Penang.

According to last Sunday’s FMT report, Choudhury said he would meet with Malaysian high commissioner to Bangladesh Haznah Md Hashim on Wednesday to discuss his proposal to extend the May 31 deadline.

He said a typhoon, lack of flights and poor coordination by agents had prevented many workers from travelling to Dhaka and onward to Malaysia.

Choudhury hoped the Malaysian government would consider the plight of the workers “whose future depends on getting jobs in Kuala Lumpur”, failing which they would undergo extreme hardship.

The minister added that many workers would have depleted their savings or borrowed money to pay the agents for the documentation.

According to reports, the workers have had to pay high recruitment and flight fees. Source: Free Malaysia Today