Trips so funny

They are keen on visiting European countries, the United States, Australia and Canada but not Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Malaysia, where they are needed the most to ensure new passports for all expatriates.

Important people like State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Senior Home Secretary Md Mozammel Haq Khan and Project Director of Machine Readable Passport (MRP) Brig Gen Masud Rezwan are going overseas frequently “to inaugurate MRP” in different countries.

However, they are not going to the three countries where the MRP issuance is in trouble.

They discuss the MRP crisis in the three countries but do not feel the need to go there. Thanks to Malaysian company IRIS, about 30 lakh expatriates are likely to not get the new passports in time in those countries, which will jeopardise their jobs and future there. They may even be deported.

As the MRP issuance to expatriates is riddled with problems due to IRIS's inefficiency and irregularities, the state minister in a meeting on April 15 decided to send the senior secretary to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Malaysia to identify the problems and resolve them.

But the senior home secretary preferred to visit Europe and the USA instead, regarding a project of Fire Service and Civil Defence.

Mozammel Haq returned home over a week ago after visiting Italy, the UK, Switzerland and the USA.

The state minister left for Germany early Tuesday with his private secretary Harun-or-Rashid Biswas, the MRP project director, and the additional secretary (planning) of the home ministry to “deliver 18 MRPs” to expatriates.

Mozammel Haq cannot go to Saudi Arabia or Malaysia now as being the senior secretary he has to shoulder the responsibility of the ministry in the state minister's absence, home ministry officials said.

The senior home secretary has to wait for the return of the state minister who plans to go to Belgium from Berlin. He is supposed to be back on June 2.

What is puzzling is that expatriates in Germany have been enrolling themselves for MRPs at the embassy since March. Yet, the project director and the state minister felt the need for its inauguration going there in person, spending the taxpayers' money.

Sources in the passport office said they were supposed to visit Berlin in March but they couldn't as the minister had another overseas trip then. The 18 passports were ready early last month but their delivery was withheld for over a month since the minister wanted to do it himself, and justify his visit.

Senior Home Secretary Mozammel Haq may not be able to visit any of the three countries even after the return of the state minister from Europe. Home ministry officials said the senior secretary would be getting ready to visit Brazil for MRP inauguration.

They said the Latin American country was much nicer a place to visit than Malaysia or the UAE. Interestingly, the MRP project director too is lobbying to go to Brazil.

Only last month, the state minister for home spent 10 days in Spain with five officials of his ministry and the MRP project.

The reason was inauguration of MRP issuance for the Bangladeshis there.

Before their trip to Spain, both the state minister and the project director went to Australia to hand over just one laptop to the Bangladesh embassy in Canberra. Both have daughters studying in Australia.

The state minister also visited Uzbekistan, France, Russia and Japan.

Many in the Department of Immigration and Passport (DIP) believe there is no need for such inauguration, spending the taxpayers' money, since the matter is merely about technical and software integration.

Such inaugurations took place in 60 foreign missions so far and every time ministers or senior officials of the ministry and the DIP went.

“A race is on among all in the ministry to grab foreign trips. They are very selective in this regard,” said an official of the home ministry, requesting anonymity.

Foreign trips in the name of MRP issuance inauguration started in April 2011 when the then home minister Sahara Khatun went to Malaysia and Singapore with then senior home secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikder, ex-DG of DIP Abdul Mabud and former project director of MRP Brig Gen Refayet Ullah.

Sahara also visited a few more countries like Australia and the USA. Former home minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, former state minister for home Shamsul Hoque Tuku and former foreign minister Dipu Moni also visited a number of countries on the same ground.

The incumbent state minister for home and the senior home secretary could not be reached for comments.

MRP Project Director Brig Gen Masud Rezwan, who is the head of the army-led MRP project management office, denies any responsibility for the IRIS's mess in the three countries.

When asked why he was going to Germany, Masud told The Daily Star, “This time, the purpose is special. We are taking the passports with us … the applicants would be there … there will be a ceremony.”