Last day of entry to malaysia on work visa: Hundreds flock to Dhaka airport
Several hundred Malaysia-bound migrant workers waited for hours at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport amid uncertainties as the deadline for workers to enter the southeast Asian country ended yesterday.
They came to the airport without plane tickets after the local recruitment agents promised that the tickets would be provided on time.
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Throughout yesterday, the two international terminals remained packed and there were crowds in front of the terminals as well. Many of the workers reached the airport on Thursday night or earlier.
Some said they were losing hope of reaching Malaysia because the recruiting agents were not answering their phones.
Around 5:00pm, Muhammad Aziz, who came to the airport on Thursday night from Jamalpur, said he had been waiting for more than 12 hours and he was not sure whether the agent would give him the ticket.
He added that he received the Malaysian visa on May 21 to work at a furniture factory.
In March, Malaysian authorities said workers of Bangladesh and 13 other countries will not be allowed to enter the southeast Asian country after May 31.
Nurul Islam, who came to the airport from Jhenaidah, said he had been waiting at the airport for three days. He did not receive his ticket as of 3:15pm.
"I spent Tk 5.40 lakh for this. I will be in serious trouble if I cannot reach Malaysia on time," he said, breaking down in tears.
Many other workers at the airport were in a similar situation. Most of them spent between Tk 5 lakh and Tk 6 lakh they managed by selling their lands or borrowing from banks.
Another man said he got a ticket to Kuala Lumpur, but there would be a stopover in the UAE.
"I will reach Malaysia on June 1. I am not sure whether they will let me work as I will miss the deadline," he said.
A special flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines left for Kuala Lumpur with 271 passengers at 7:15pm yesterday. The flight was arranged at the instruction of the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare, said Masud Khan, manager (public relations) at Biman.
Asked about the crowd of people, Group Capt Kamrul Islam, executive director of the airport, said additional flights were being arranged to handle the pressure.
In the last three days, 5,294 Bangladeshi migrant workers left for Malaysia in 30 scheduled and special flights of Biman, US-Bangla, Malaysian and Batik Air.
Besides, 179 migrant workers reached Kuala Lumpur on four transit flights, Kamrul said.
Biman earlier operated four special flights. The tickets sold for Tk 73,616 each.
Nearly 4.50 lakh Bangladeshi workers migrated to Malaysia between August 2022 and April this year, shows Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training data. The southeast Asian country reopened its labour market for Bangladesh in 2022 following a four-year suspension.
Last year, Malaysia was the second largest overseas job market for Bangladesh.
At an event in Dhaka on Wednesday, Malaysian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Haznah Md Hashim said the deadline will not be extended.
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