Malaysia stands firm on worker entry deadline

Malaysian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Haznah Md Hashim has said her government stands by its May 31 deadline for the entry of foreign workers into the country.

The Southeast Asian country is adhering to the deadline because it has 15 source countries from which it gets workers, and "we want to ensure uniformity in the application of this deadline," the high commissioner told reporters after a meeting with the state minister for expatriates' welfare and overseas employment on Wednesday afternoon.

This is not unique to Bangladesh but applies to all 15 source countries, she added.

The high commissioner said the state minister has requested Malaysia to reconsider the deadline, adding that she will relay the message to Kuala Lumpur.

Regarding the complaint of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) that the Malaysian government issued e-visas even after the scheduled time, she said: "We cannot take any complaint into account without proof." The high commissioner added that until now, the Malaysian government departments, including those responsible for issuing visas, have strictly adhered to the deadline.

State Minister for Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Shofiqur Rahman Choudhury said Dhaka has requested the Malaysian government to reconsider the deadline and is actively working on it.

In response to a question, the state minister said that his ministry's probe committee will figure out why thousands of workers could not go to Malaysia. "Those who have a BMET card or e-visa will be compensated."

Malaysian Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has said the Malaysian government will not extend the deadline.

He told Malaysian reporters that all matters were considered before the May 31 deadline was set.

“So if you ask me whether the time will be extended, the answer is no.”

Notably, despite completing all procedures to go to Malaysia, 16,970 Bangladesh workers could not do so by May 31.