Lawyers’ Group Concerned Over Xenophobic Sentiments On Bangladeshi Workers?

Lawyers for Liberty has expressed concern over the rising xenophobic and racist sentiments against the Malaysian government's plan to bring in 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers over the next three years.

Its executive director Eric Paulsen said it was unacceptable that the people made sweeping statements that migrant workers would cause all manner of social problems, including having relations with local women and causing a rise in crime, diseases, security issues and even terrorism.

"Migrant workers are not in Malaysia to commit crimes, bring diseases or harass local women. They are here to work, mainly in jobs shunned by locals.

"They generally come from impoverished backgrounds, having left everything behind and incurring huge debts in order to try earn a living in Malaysia for their families and themselves," he said in a statement today.
He said like everywhere else, there were individual cases of migrant workers misbehaving or committing crimes, and they were rightly handled by the relevant authorities.

The Home Ministry in a statement last Thursday said there was no specific figure for Bangladeshi workers entering the country because it depended on the actual needs of the employer during the application.

The ministry said the number of Bangladeshi workers entering the country would be assessed based on the qualifications and abilities of the employer to comply with regulations set by the government.

According to the ministry, the figure of "1.5 million Bangladeshi workers" widely mentioned in media coverage was actually the number of Bangladeshis registered with the Bangladesh government for employment.

 

Source:– Bernama,