The Malaysian authorities have started deporting illegal migrants back to their respective countries including Bangladesh.
At least 40 passengers were sent back on Monday on a flight of the US-Bangla Airlines (BS 316) from Kuala Lumpur, who were trying to enter Malaysia as workers on tourist visas.
According to the deported migrants, at least 1,000 more Bangladeshis are waiting for repatriation in the deportation centres.
According to the Malaysian authorities, thousands of workers are constantly illegally going to Malaysia, failing to go legally. They are lured by brokers and forced to live a inhumane life in Malaysia. The Malaysian law enforcement agencies are rounding them up and are being sent back to their countries of origin.
The agencies stated that these individuals had entered Malaysia claiming to be tourists but failed to proceed through immigration. Instead, they were seen wandering around the airport's food courts and other areas, leading to suspicions that they were waiting for someone in particular.
Following checks, around 1,000 Bangladeshis, were taken to the airport's Immigration Operations Office. After reviewing their documents, they were denied entry into Malaysia and were issued 'Notice to Leave,' instructing them to return to their respective countries.
Some 40 people went to Malaysia on tourist visas, spending between Tk 3 lakh to Tk 5 lakh. Malaysian immigration police have sent them back. Another 1,000 workers like them are living a inhumane life, trapped at Malaysian airports.
In addition, thousands of illegal workers are trapped in migrant camps. Officials at the Bangladesh Embassy in Kuala Lumpur acknowledged the detention of workers but could not provide the actual number.
One of the returning workers, Helena Begum from Munshiganj, told The Daily Observer correspondent on board the aircraft that she had gone to Malaysia on the morning of May 16 through a local broker who took Tk 3.5 lakh from her.
Three days later, she was boarded on a flight to Bangladesh. Helena Begum said after her husband died, she was living in hardship with her two children. So, tempted by the broker, she went to Malaysia with the money borrowed from a money lender.
She said there were about 1,000 more people like her detained at the Kuala Lumpur airport. Many of them spoke Bengali. From that, she assumed they were all Bangladeshis.
She was given a 22-day tourist visa. The airport was supposed to contract them to take them back. But the Malaysian immigration police become suspicious and detained them.
Shariatpur resident Ilias Hossain arrived in Dhaka from Kuala Lumpur on the same US Bangla Airlines flight. He said he arrived in Kuala Lumpur from Dhaka at 8:25am on May 16.
He landed at the airport and gave the broker one lakh taka. The broker kept saying, "I will take him out in an hour," and stayed for two hours. The broker just wandered around like this for two days. There was no food, no water.
They bought this and that from the food stalls inside the airport. Those who didn't have money went without eating for days. On May 18 they told us to go to the immigration desk and get arrested.
Immigration detained us and kept us in jail for a day. Later, we were fined 120 ringgit. After paying the fine, they put us on a US Bangla Airlines flight.
Elias also said, "A broker named Shah Alam took Tk 3.5 lakh from me." Elias said, "More than 1,000 people like me are stuck at the airport." Rabiul Hossain of Paikgachara in Jessore gave the same information.
Malaysia's Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) has rounded up 122 foreign nationals at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) for suspicious behaviour, In a statement on Monday, AKPS said the detainees claimed to be tourists but did not proceed towards the immigration counter. Instead, they were seen loitering around food stalls and other areas of the airport, allegedly waiting for someone.
KLIA surveillance teams screened 300 foreign nationals, of whom 122 were denied entry for not being genuine tourists.
Counsellor (Political) at the Bangladesh Embassy in Kula Lumpur, Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya, said that workers almost always try to enter Malaysia illegally on tourist visas. A group of travel agency owners are involved in this scheme. They lure workers to Malaysia by offering them various incentives. The workers are detained by the immigration police and live in inhumane conditions in migrant camps.
A high official of the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, who did not wish to be named, said that whenever the government takes the initiative to open the Malaysian labour market, a deviant group becomes an obstacle and prevents the market from opening.
