Malaysia extends amnesty for irregular Bangladeshis
Malaysia gave yet another chance of biometric registration to irregular foreign workers who had not registered with the immigration department by August 31.
This chance of amnesty allows undocumented foreign workers to return home without facing any penalty or become regularised to continue their jobs. However, they have to first register with the Malaysian immigration.
"We are asking irregular Bangladeshi workers, if they have not registered, to contact our mission in Kuala Lumpur," said Mantu Kumar Biswas, first secretary (labour) of Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, over phone yesterday.
Quoting Malaysia's immigration department, he said they would keep registering the irregular workers left unregistered before starting the regularisation programme, which could start by early October.
Biswas did not give any estimate on the number of irregular Bangladeshi workers left unregistered but said if they do not get registered, they would face “actions”.
He did not elaborate on what the “actions” could be, but Malaysian media earlier reported that those not registering would later face arrest and punishment.
Under the registration programme of the undocumented foreigners that started on August 1 and ended on August 31, a total of 2,67,803 irregular Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia got registered.
The Bangladesh High Commission earlier estimated that around 3 lakh Bangladeshi workers could be undocumented from around 5 lakh working there.
An official of the Bangladesh mission said this number could be even more as many documented workers fled from their jobs and became irregular, only to get better jobs by taking the amnesty.
On that basis, an estimated 50,000 Bangladeshis could be yet out of registration.
Meanwhile, Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training, over a statement on Thursday, asked friends and families of the undocumented and unregistered Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia to advise them to contact Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur at phone numbers -- 03-21419528, 03-21417720 and 03-21415875 for assistance.
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