Mismanagement by government authorities and local recruiting agents led to over 3,000 workers failing to reach Malaysia before the deadline of May 31.

Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) has initially estimated that 3,000 to 4,000 Bangladeshi workers could not reach the Southeast Asian country within the deadline, set by Kuala Lumpur in early March.

On Friday, several hundred workers waited for hours at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to catch flights. Many of them went there without tickets after receiving assurances from local recruiters that they would be given tickets on time.

Shariful Hasan, head of BRAC's Migration and Youth Initiatives Programme, said Malaysia announced the deadline in March but the Bangladesh government did not respond to this until late last month.

Some additional flights were operated on Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur route only late last month which was not enough, he said.

He blamed both the countries for the suffering of the migrant workers.

Labour migration expert Prof CR Abrar said a traveller is not expected to go to the airport without a ticket.

The recruitment process of the Malaysia-bound workers had started much earlier and many went to the airport as part of the process, he told The Daily Star.

"The authorities should seriously look into the suffering of the migrant workers, find out those responsible and take stern action against them," said Abrar, also the executive director of Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU).

He said syndicates of some quarters had been active in labour migration from Bangladesh to Malaysia over the years.

Enquired about the matter, State Minister for Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Shofiqur Rahman Choudhury yesterday said the government would look into Friday's incident and take action against those responsible.

Those who failed to go to Kuala Lumpur on Friday despite having valid travel documents will be given priority for jobs in Malaysia whenever the next opportunity is available, he told this newspaper over the phone.

In March, Malaysia announced the May 31 deadline to bring in foreign workers from 14 countries, including Bangladesh.

Speaking at an event in Dhaka on Wednesday, Malaysian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Haznah Md Hashim said the deadline for workers' entry to Malaysia would not be extended and that this was in "the interest of the country's national security".

BRAC's Shariful said imposing a deadline on the entry of valid visa holders means creating opportunities for some other stakeholders to take undue advantage of the situation.

He said a person having a valid visa of a particular country should be able to enter that country without trouble.

Baira Secretary General Ali Haider Chowdhury yesterday said they were yet to have the final figure of workers who could not travel to Malaysia failing to get a flight.

"Our office was closed on the weekends [Friday and Saturday]. We will able to get the final statistics on Sunday [today]," he told The Daily Star.

Malaysia has been an attractive job destination for low-paid Bangladeshi migrant workers over the years. They prefer the Southeast Asian country to some traditional markets in the Gulf due to many reasons, including higher wage.

According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics' "Labour Force Survey-2022", a Bangladeshi migrant worker earns Tk 28,822 a month in Malaysia on average compared to Tk 24,957 in Saudi Arabia.

However, the Bangladesh-Malaysia migration was marred by irregularities and exploitation, which had prompted Malaysia to shut its door on Bangladeshi workers on multiple occasions.

The country had suspended labour recruitment from Bangladesh in 2018 over allegations of irregularities. It resumed hiring Bangladeshi workers in 2022.

Data from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training shows that nearly 4.50 lakh Bangladeshis migrated to Malaysia between August 2022 and April 2024.

Last year, Malaysia was the second largest overseas job market for Bangladesh after Saudi Arabia.

Jasiya Khatoon, director of Welfare Association for the Rights of Bangladeshi Emigrants Development Foundation, said Friday's incident at the Dhaka airport is proof of Bangladesh's poor migration management.

She blamed local recruiters and the government authorities concerned.

She said the government should step up its diplomatic efforts to address the challenges facing the migrant workers.