PETALING JAYA: Former Bangladeshi ambassador Mohamed Khairuzzaman, who fears for his life if he is deported to his home country, hopes to obtain Malaysian permanent resident (PR) status, similar to the one given to Zakir Naik.
Khairuzzaman said the threats he faced back home were similar to the ones faced by Naik, who was granted PR status after he claimed that his life would be in danger if he was handed over to the Indian authorities.
“If the Malaysian government deports me, I will be prosecuted in Bangladesh straight away without receiving proper justice. My life will be in danger, just like Zakir Naik’s,” he told FMT.
“It is up to the Malaysian government to consider this, but I would definitely welcome and thank the government if they were to offer me permanent residency.”
Controversial Muslim preacher Naik was given PR status despite being wanted in his native India on money laundering charges. Naik claimed the charges were trumped up by the Indian government.
Putrajaya has refused to deport the preacher despite requests from India, saying he may not receive a fair trial there.
Khairuzzaman was arrested by immigration authorities for overstaying on Feb 9 and held for six days despite having a valid United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) card, which allows him to stay in Malaysia legally without a visa.
However, the High Court granted an interim order against the immigration department from deporting him to Dhaka and he was later released.
After his arrest, Bangladeshi state minister for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam said Khairuzzaman would be brought back home and could be re-investigated for the killing of several people jailed in Dhaka in 1975.
Khairuzzaman had been detained without charge or trial for three years and nine months in 1996 in relation to the deaths of four Awami League (the current ruling government in Bangladesh) political party members and national leaders in jail. Khairuzzaman, a former army officer, was a suspect in the killings.
On calls for an open market policy in the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia, Khairuzzaman noted that there were no limits to the number of agencies allowed when he headed the high commission from 2007 to 2009. Also, he said, there was better competition and the cost of hiring workers was lower.
However, there were no syndicates that prevented Bangladeshi workers the opportunity to work here, he said. “It has increased the cost of labour, and recruitment has been monopolised in the hands of a few. Obviously, this is not favourable for the workers.” - FMT
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