There are no 1.4 mil Bangla workers here

Human Resource minister informs parliament that the number was that of the Bangladeshi workers overseas registered in their home country.

KUALA LUMPUR: Human Resource Minister Richard Riot had refuted in parliament today the allegation that there were 1.4 million Bangladeshi workers in the country.

He rebutted the allegation in a written statement that the 1.4 million was the number of Bangladeshi working overseas registered in their home country.

The statement – which was issued in response to the oral questions raised by Paya Besar MP Abdul Manan Ismail in parliament – also stated that the oil palm sector was in need of 10,000 workers.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Malaysia and Bangladesh in 2012 where the bringing in of workers was done through Government-to-Government (G2G) engagement.

As of Sept 23, the Human Resource Ministry said 8,703 Bangladeshi applicants had been vetted by the police and immigration officers in which, 75 had been found with criminal record.

Through the G2G engagement, 10 plantation companies had applied for the hiring of 13,000 Bangladeshi and only three companies received approval to do so thus far. They were Sime Darby Plantations with 200 workers, UP Plantations – 262, and Kulim Plantations – 683.

Other plantation companies request were rejected for not fulfilling the minimum wage criteria and failure to provide proper lodging for the workers.

Meanwhile, The Star reported on Aug 22 that 1.4 million Bangladeshi workers were scheduled to be recruited in stages from early next year and would be issued special identity cards (IC).

Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the ICs would be equipped with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and biometric technology to prevent Bangladeshi workers from switching jobs frequently.