Bangladesh News

Battered by employers and cheated by agents, 45 Bangladeshi workers returned from Malaysia yesterday after over one year with bruises all over their bodies.

The returnees who spent over Tk 2 lakh each to get an overseas job allege Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur did not address their issue. As a result, they had to leave the “dreamland”, which has now turned a “nightmare”.

At a press conference organised by IMA Research Foundation at Dhaka Reporters Unity, Shahadat Hossain said he went to Malaysia in a group of 40 through recruiting agency Mark Overseas in July last year and was employed in plastic company Classic Board Services Servicing Centre in Kelang at monthly RM 700.

“We were told that we would work 12 hours, but we had to work 18 to 20 hours a day. In case of any single mistake, the Chinese boss would beat us up,” he said.

He said the workers were given work target and if anyone failed to fulfil it, the boss used to hit them hard. Fifteen of the workers fled the company in less than a month as they could no longer endure the torture.

“We told our agent Kamal of Vital Manpower in Malaysia that we could not tolerate the tortures anymore. After two months, he withdrew us and assured of arranging alternative jobs,” Shahadat of Bikrampur said.

But Kamal took them to a hotel and disappeared, he added.

The group of 23 went to Bangladesh High Commission and received shelter for some days. A Malaysian NGO, Tenaganita, also sheltered them for around six months.

Kamal returned after several months and arranged their employment with a mobile factory in Johor Baru where they worked for three months, Shahadat said. The company, however, did not keep them saying their work permit expired.

“We were good at work. There was a Bangladeshi supervisor who tried to extend our work permit. But he failed as the immigration police blocked our documents of working in Malaysia.”

Enamul Haque went to Malaysia in a group of 75 through another recruiting agency in July last year. He said they were confined in a congested camp for the first three months with minimum food.

“We were then sold to different agents who employed us as shipyard workers, mud cutters, grass cutters and so on. We were paid only 150 to 200 Malaysian Ringiit a month,” he said.

But the Malaysian agent terminated their job saying their work permits were fake. “We do not know how could those be fake,” Enamul said.

He added they sought a solution from the high commission, but Labour Counsellor Talat Mahmud Khan was unable to help them.

Enamul said they roamed in the country like “orphans”. Tenaganita gave them shelter for a few months, filed police report and cases with the labour court and arranged their return.

“We sold our land and borrowed money to get a better job abroad to change our fate. How we will face our families now?” Kamrul Islam of the same group broke down.

Arifur Rahman of Mark Overseas said he learned that there were problems and Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur tried to solve those. He however said he did not exactly know what the problems were.