Dhaka looks forward to withdrawal of ban

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Dhaka believes the suspension of the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers is temporary and looks forward to seeing the withdrawal of the decision by Kuala Lumpur soon, said M Khairuzzaman, Bangladesh high commissioner to Kuala Lumpur, while talking to Malaysian newspaper The Star.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Employers’ Federation (MEF) expressed serious annoyance over the Malaysian government’s decision to ban fresh recruitment of Bangladeshi workers, while Tenaganita, a migrants and women rights organization in Malaysia, termed the ban unjust and inhumane.

The Malaysian cabinet on October 3 decided to freeze employment of fresh workers from Bangladesh yet again following problems created by employers in Malaysia and their recruiting agents — both in Bangladesh and in Malaysia.

Bangladesh High Commissioner to Kuala Lumpur, M Khairuzzaman, told The Star that the Bangladesh government was confident that the matter could be resolved in the best interest of the workers.

The workers were not to blame at all, he said adding that the recruiting agents in Bangladesh have to bear the blame for what had happened.

“I will try to meet Datuk Seri Radzi. Of course, the ban is disheartening…We hope it is only for weeks, not months or years… If there are loopholes in the system, let’s plug it,” said the high commissioner.

In Dhaka, Foreign Secretary Touhid Hossain told The Daily Star yesterday, “A total of 3 lakh workers had been approved by Malaysian authorities and around 1.8 lakh are already there. The rest, 1.2 lakh, will be allowed to enter Malaysia.”

There were problems on both the sides and “we want to ensure that workers do not suffer,” he added.

The Press Information Department yesterday in a press note said the government of Malaysia decided to suspend the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers so that the existing problems of the workers do not worsen further. The remaining workers, who had already been approved, would be allowed to go to Malaysia, the note added.

Foreign Secretary Touhid Hossain said Dhaka will follow up the issue with Kuala Lumpur for a solution. “A probe committee went to Malaysia and we are examining their recommendations.”

In Malaysia, MEF (Malaysian Employers’ Federation) Executive Director Samsudin Baradan came down hard on Malaysian government while speaking to the country’s leading newspaper The Star, saying, “The government is always playing hot and cold with regards to bringing in foreign workers. Today it says it’s possible and tomorrow it says it’s not.”

Such frequent policy changes are causing havoc to their long-term investment planning, he added.

MEF President Datuk Azlan Shah Harun will raise the issue to the special task force set up by the Malaysian government to facilitate business and improve public delivery system, Samsudin said.

“This is not good for the country in terms of long-term investment,” he said adding that Bangladeshi workers are well spread out in different sectors including plantation, services, and furniture manufacturing.

A director at Yeoh, a machinery and steel company, feared that the suspension on the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers would affect the supply of skilled manpower, as “the Bangladeshis are quite competent. They have the necessary skills and are hardworking.”

Richard Yeap, senior manager of Chin Well Holdings, Sdn Bhd, said the government should review applications on a case-by-case basis and not impose a blanket freeze. Since the main problem lies within the system of outsourcing, he advised to stop outsourcing.

Human rights organization Tenaganita in a statement signed by its director Irene Fernandez said the Bangladesh government has done its best to ensure that the workers are recruited and sent within the terms and conditions stipulated by the Malaysian government, but the Malaysian government’s ad hoc policies have created the mess.

“The Malaysian government, particularly the Ministry of Home Affairs has been in a continuous state of self denial to the various problems faced by migrant workers,” it said adding “The outsourcing companies are very much linked with patronage politics in Malaysia where their goal is to make fast money from the poor workers.”

Under the present recruitment system, the outsourcing companies supply the workers to employers who then keep them in captivity and make use of them for temporary work without paying their wages, it said.

Holding the Malaysian home ministry responsible for approving outsourcing companies to bring in workers without proper verification, the statement said, “Why do we blame the workers? And why do we deny the rights of these workers to come to the country to work when there is a need for them?”

“The Malaysian government, especially Home Minister YB Datuk Seri Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad, must take the blame,” it said adding, “There is no monitoring mechanism and no accountability on the part of these companies. They are allowed to act with impunity.”

Urging the Malaysian government not to see recruitment of migrant workers as a business, it said, “It is unjust and inhuman. Workers are not commodities, but human beings.”

“If the government wants to arrest corruption being ingrained in the recruitment of migrant workers, then it must have a comprehensive policy that is holistic, rights based and transparent. Otherwise, both the Minister of Home Affairs and the Minister of Human Resources should resign,” Tenaganita demanded.

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