Malaysia to crack down on illegal workers from Jan 21

REPUBLICA KATHMANDU, Jan 18: The Government of Malaysia plans to crack down on the illegal foreign workers from January 21. A press release issued by the Embassy of Nepal in Kwalalampur said that all the security agencies will be mobilized to use force to arrest and repatriate illegal workers. According to the embassy, however, those on the process of returning to their home country though undocumented, those with travel permit document and travel tickets will not be arrested. The press release further said that the arrested will be fined and will be allowed to go back to their homeland. The embassy has requested all the undocumented Nepalis to purchase the ticket as soon as possible and apply for the travel document with the embassy immediately. The embassy has informed that it will remain open even on Sunday for providing the services to those workers. The grace period of three months for the illegal workers announced by the Home Ministry of Malaysia expires on January 21. The Malaysian government had launched a similar crackdown on the undocumented workers two years ago to discourage overstay of foreign workers. General-secretary of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA) Kumud Khanal, said that it´s an opportunity for the undocumented workers to return home. ”Anyone who returns now before the deadline expires can reapply for Malaysia after six months,” added Khanal. There are some 1,500 illegal workers in the jails of Malaysia, according to Khanal. Different organizations in Malaysia also have circulated the message to the workers and asked them to talk with their employers and return home and apply for the work visa again after six months. “Those who want to defy the order to return to Nepal will be recorded by the government of Malaysia and will never get an opportunity to apply for the wisa next time,” added Khanal. Malaysia is one of the top destinations for Nepali migrant workers. According to the Embassy of Malaysia in Kathmandu, there are about 700,000 Nepalese citizens working in Malaysia. Estimates say that there are about 35,000 undocumented foreign Nepalis in Malayasia. The Malaysian government began the crack down on foreign workers overstaying illegally since 2011. Some 156,770 Nepalese had gone to Malaysia in the fiscal year 2012-2013 in search of work. The figure stood at 98,367 in the previous year.
Published on 2014-01-18 22:04:24