Nepali hangouts in Malaysia look deserted

-----------Crackdown on illegal foreign migrants--------------- PRABHAKAR GHIMIRE KATHMANDU, Jan 21: Dozens of restaurants run by Nepalis in different parts of Malaysia have remained closed as Nepali migrant workers stopped venturing out from their living quarters for fear of possible arrest by law enforcement officials. Kumud Khanal, vice-president of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA) in Malaysia, said many restaurants operated by Nepalis in various places including Kuala Lumpur, Kotaraya, Johor Baharu and Penang areas have shut down due to minimal turnout of Nepali customers. “Restaurants are major targets of law enforcement officials. We have reports that more than five dozen Nepali restaurants in Kotaraya alone -- which is one of the major hangouts of Nepali workers-- have been closed. Numbers of Nepali-run restaurants in other areas are also without customers,” Khanal, who has been sending workers to Malaysia, told Republica on Tuesday. An official at the Nepali embassy in Kuala Lumpur said Nepali restaurant owners themselves have opted to close their establishments to avoid illegal Nepali customers. “A negligible number of Nepali migrants have shown up at their major hangouts since the last few days, leading to the closure of a number of restaurants,” added the official. The Nepali embassy stated that over 1,600 Nepali illegal workers received their travel documents over the last three days to avoid possible arrest by security personnel. However, embassy officials also said there has been confusion over how to repatriate workers who have received their travel documents. “We are making inquiries with the Malaysian authorities about the check-out process for those who have secured travel documents,” the official added. In a massive crackdown against illegal migrants, the Malaysian government arrested a total of 1,565 foreign workers, including over 60 Nepalis, from different parts of Malaysia on Tuesday. Bernama.com--the Malaysian national news agency-- quoted James Musa Singa, Kuala Lumpur´s immigration enforcement division assistant director, as saying that 257 Indonesians, 60 Bangladeshis, 41 Maynmar nationals, 39 Indian, 30 Nepalis, 18 Pakistani, two Vietnamese and one each from Nigeria, Thailand, Yeman and Togo were arrested in Kuala Lumpur alone. The identity of three of the arrested has not been established.	In Melaka, Kedaha and Penang also, around 30 Nepalis were arrested, in addition to workers from other countries. The local security agencies have conducted search operations at major lcalities where migrant populations are high, including Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baharu, Penag, Seremban, Kuala Terengganu, Kuching, Kampung Gersik, Petra Jaya, Demak Laut and Samariang, Bau, Kedah, Serian, Melaka, Perak, Miri, Bintulu, Sibu, Sandakan and Limbang. Malaysian authorities launched fresh operations to flush out foreign workers who failed to register under the special program for the management of illegal migrants. Around 10,000 enforcement officials from the Immigration Department, Royal Malaysia Police and People´s Volunteer Corps (Rela) have been deployed for a nationwide crackdown after the three-month special program ended Monday mid-night. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Malaysia´s home minister, said those captured under Standard Operations Procedure (SOP) will be deported within seven days to avoid overcrowding in detention centers. The government has set up 15 immigration depots nationwide and designated a number of places as detention centers to smoothen the process of repatriating illegal workers.
	Yearly Departure of Nepalis to Malaysia 2003/04 45,760 2004/05 66,291 2005/06 75,526 2006/07 74,029 2007/08 50,554 2008/09 35,070 2009/10 113,982 2010/11 105,906 2011/12 98,367 2012/13 105,306
Published on 2014-01-21 23:20:01