Legalising Bangladeshi workers
We are very happy to learn that the government of Malaysia has decided to legalise some 400,000 Bangladeshi workers working there without proper work permits. That the decision has come against the backdrop of a government-to-government (G2G Plus) initiative to take some 1.5 million more of our workers over the next three years is extremely good news for Bangladesh. The process should be concluded within the next year and our workers there who have had no problems with the law should take advantage of regularising their papers with the authorities. It would provide them with safety, better pay from employers and rights – none of which is presently available to illegal workers.
Kuala Lumpur deserves praise for the initiative especially in the backdrop of growing demands by many Malaysians to deport illegal workers in that country. With papers regularised, the hundreds of thousands of illegal workers who remit a mere US$112 million a year should be able to earn much better wages and the remittance basket from Malaysia should grow significantly. It should also send a strong signal to human traffickers who have taken advantage of poor Bangladeshis desperate to get to a foreign land to earn a living – a dream that more often than not turns into a nightmare. An undocumented worker has no place to go and is hostage to unscrupulous employers.
With this move, we hope that relations between the two countries will smooth out over the near future and we can look forward to a mutually beneficial agreement that profits both economies.
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