When even legal migrants suffer

We are gravely concerned by the observation of UN experts regarding the dismal conditions of Bangladeshi migrants in Malaysia who have gone there through the official labour migration process. Oftentimes, we have heard of migrants who are suffering abroad being criticised, instead of finding sympathy and support, for going there illegally. However, the migrants in question went to Malaysia following all the legal processes. Therefore, the fact that UN experts found the situation of Bangladeshi migrants who have lived in Malaysia "for several months or longer" to be "unsustainable and undignified," means that it is the authorities that are at fault, and there is no scope of shifting their blame.

According to the UN experts' findings, many Bangladeshi migrants upon arrival to Malaysia find that they do not have employment as promised and are often forced into overstaying their visas. Consequently, they face the risk of arrest, detention, ill treatment, and deportation. The experts also found that huge sums of money were being generated through the fraudulent recruitment of migrant workers by criminal networks operating in Malaysia and Bangladesh. Meanwhile, migrants are being forced to pay exorbitant recruitment fees to some fake recruitment companies, pushing them into debt bondage. And worryingly, some reports indicate that certain high-level officials in both governments are involved in this business or are condoning it.

Since the end of 2022, more than 400,000 Bangladeshis have gone to Malaysia for jobs under a syndicate of 100 Bangladeshi recruiting agencies selected by the Malaysian government. However, according to media reports, a significant portion of them are facing unemployment, underpayment, or no payment. And this means that the official system in place is not working correctly. But the question needs to be asked, who is benefitting from this?

The UN experts have called on the Malaysian authorities to take urgent measures to address the dire humanitarian situation of migrants and to protect them from exploitation, criminalisation, and other human rights abuses. And the Bangladesh government must ask for the same through dialogue. The Malaysian authorities should also investigate what is holding back safe migration for workers, and govern labour migration more effectively by adopting adequate safeguards.

The Bangladesh government, in the meantime, should sit with the concerned authorities in Malaysia and insist upon the safety of our citizens migrating there for work. Additionally, it must identify those taking advantage of migrant vulnerabilities on its side and punish them accordingly.