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Thursday, December 4, 2014

Bangladeshis coming as workers, not voters

A bilateral agreement will allow 12,000 more Bangladeshis into Malaysia to work in Sarawak.
bangla undi_300KUALA LUMPUR: The ruling Barisan Nasional Government in Putrajaya was accused last year by the Opposition, during the General Elections, of bringing in 40,000 Bangladeshis to vote for it.
The claim was rubbished by the Bangladeshi Government. It was said at that time that Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had reportedly told workers in her country that Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had promised them citizenships if they work in Malaysia.
Labour matters top the agenda during Hasina’s current three-day visit to Malaysia. She is here at Najib’s invitation to also discuss ways to strengthen ties between the two nations. Malaysia has US$3.2 billion worth of projects in Bangladesh.
Bilateral agreements signed on this trip will allow 12,000 more Bangladeshis into the country to work in Sarawak. Millions more are waiting for a chance to find jobs in the country.
However, the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) is against more Bangladeshi workers entering the country. Already, there are half a million Bangladeshis living and working in Malaysia.
“We have natives here in Sarawak. Why can’t the government do the necessary things so that we can bring them into the job market rather than bring in outsiders? asked MTUC Secretary-General N Gopal Krishnan. “I mean we respect the Bangladeshis as workers, but charity begins at home.”
“The employers are only concentrating on their profit margin. If they take in locals, they have to follow the Employment Act, make mandatory contributions to EPF (Employees Provident Fund) and also meet other requirements. By having foreign workers they don’t have to pay.”
Low wages and political strife are driving Bangladeshis to seek employment in Malaysia.
“We have registered 1.4 million people who are willing to come to Malaysia,” said Bangladeshi Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain in an interview with ChannelNews Asia.
“I like Malaysia,” said Bangladeshi chef assistant Mostufa Golam Rabbani, who is working in Malaysia, while construction worker Kajel Chokder added: “There’s not much money in our country. Salaries aren’t very high there either.”
“As far as we’re concerned, many of them are very dedicated and hardworking,” said SAL Group chairman Abdul Rashid Abdul Ghani.
“We really need them here, now, because there is a shortage of foreign workers. We have problems with local workers because more Malaysians prefer the higher-end working conditions and salaries.”
Bangladeshi workers, he stressed, could use the skills they have learnt to improve their own country when they return home.

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