The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Seven hundred to 1000 Bangladeshi workers are arriving in Malaysia daily because their work permits were issued before the Malaysian Government freeze last October, News Straits Times and Malaysia Star reported from Putrajaya yesterday.

Bangladesh High Commissioner M Khairuzzaman, who revealed the figures at a press conference yesterday (Friday), said the Malaysian Government's move was meant to stabilise the situation involving Bangladeshi workers here.

Malaysia had also frozen the intake of Bangladeshi workers in 1999.

However, the fresh arrivals are legal workers and face on threat of departation.

Khairuzzaman said more than 300,000 Bangladeshi workers were in the country now.

However, he denied that some were illegal and said only those who left their employers without their passports could be considered so.

"Of the many workers who arrive here to work, only a few demand to return. We estimate that only 10 per cent of the workers ask their employers to fund their trips back home but the majority want to stay," he said.

"Some workers may have had fallouts with unscrupulous agents and employers. We hope to resolve the issues with the cooperation of the Home Affairs and Human Resource ministries," he said.

"Those coming this year are those whose applications were made before the temporary freeze," Khairuzzaman. The daily arrival figure quoted by the Bangladesh High Commissioner is not far off from those stated in official records.

Immigration Director-General Datuk Wahid Md Don had confirmed similar figures in a previous interview. During the height of arrivals between August and September last year, Wahid had said that 1,600 to 2,000 Bangladeshi workers were arriving daily at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh High Commission yesterday signed a sale and purchase agreement with Putrajaya Corporation for two plots of land in the Diplomatic Precinct here. The high commission will begin design planning and building of the mansion for housing its foreign mission soon, Khairuzzaman said.

Besides, Bangladesh, 28 other foreign missions had either completed their purchases or are awaiting approval from their governments to buy land in the precinct. The missions will eventually relocate from Kuala Lumpur.

Putrajaya Corporation president Tan Sri Samsudin Osman said Iraq was ahead of the others as it had already submitted building design plans and was preparing to carry out earthworks.

Samsudin said Putrajaya had lots to offer expatriates and foreign diplomats including an international school, equestrian club and lake club with water sports facilities.