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Bangladeshi worker Habib arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 5.30am on Friday, more than seven hours later than planned due to delays caused by “immigration issues” at the Dhaka airport.
The 28-year-old told CNA he was glad to have arrived in Malaysia before the deadline, and said the immigration process was “quick”.
“Even though I had paid, I couldn’t come earlier because the flights were full,” he said.
He had previously worked in Malaysia for seven years, but was forced to return to Bangladesh in 2020 due to the expiration of his contract and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr Habib was interpreting for 15 of his compatriots, all wearing white hats, who had arrived with him as they waited for a bus to Penang, where he would work in the textile industry for 1,500 ringgit ($318.60) a month.
He said he had “many” friends in Bangladesh who had obtained visas to come to Malaysia to work but had yet to fly over.
“If they can’t come, and they’ve already paid, can they get their money back?” he asked. “I consider myself lucky (for my situation), thank God.”
Bangladeshi news website Kaler Kontho reported on Friday that recruitment agencies in the country have urged the Malaysian government to extend the deadline for Bangladeshi nationals who have been approved to work in Malaysia.
The Bangladesh International Recruitment Agencies Association (BAIRA) told the newspaper that more than 30,000 workers in the country have been approved to work in Malaysia but are unable to arrive there before May 31.
“We have held several meetings with the relevant ministries in Bangladesh on the matter. We discussed extending the time by one or two months. So that all the workers can be sent out,” BAIRA said.
“Because if workers can’t go, they’ll suffer financially.”
The association estimated last year that each worker paid up to RM20,000 to several players during the recruitment process.
Malaysian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Hazna Hashim told a news conference in Dhaka on Wednesday that the Malaysian government had set the May 31 deadline for national and border security reasons.
“It is an open secret that Malaysia has quite a large number of illegal immigrants. I am referring not only to Bangladesh but all 15 source countries,” she said, adding that the government would deal with the matter “internally” after the deadline.
When asked about recruitment syndicates, Ms Haznah said the Malaysian government was doing its utmost to ensure the recruitment of foreign workers was ethical and transparent.
“(But) there are things that are … beyond the control of the governments of Malaysia and Bangladesh,” she said.
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