Appalling treatment of migrant worker in Malaysia

The treatment meted out by the Malaysian immigration police to a Bangladeshi worker who has been working legally in the country is simply unacceptable. The 25-year-old worker was beaten up by the immigration police in Malaysia after being detained with several other migrant workers at a shopping mall on January 3, as per a report in this daily yesterday.

The migrant worker's account of what happened is horrifying. He alleged that he was repeatedly punched and hit with sticks by the Malaysian police and that two policemen even made him massage their legs while he was bleeding. We are appalled by the fact that members of a law enforcing agency of a country would treat a migrant worker in such an inhumane manner.

The migrant worker in question, who has been living and working in Malaysia for five years, had valid documents. So why was he detained? And even a migrant worker who fails to produce valid legal documents cannot be treated in such a barbaric way, that too by a law enforcing agency. As if such brutal treatment wasn't enough, the migrant worker had to wait for 20 hours before an officer found the worker's documents online after which he was released the next morning. We wonder why it took so long for the immigration officer to find the worker's documents, especially since the worker in question was staying in Malaysia legally and as such the police didn't have any legal grounds to detain him.

This particular incident reflects the lack of respect accorded to our workers in Malaysia as well as the total disregard for migrants' rights of some members of that country's immigration police. Bangladesh's foreign ministry needs to take notice of this incident and act accordingly to drive home the message that our workers' rights must be respected. The Bangladesh High Commission in Malaysia must also demand justice for the Bangladeshi migrant worker and ensure that the Malaysian government takes action against the police officials involved.