Malaysia denies entry to 3155 Bangladeshis in Jan-Oct

Malaysia's immigration department barred 44,941 foreigners, including 3,155 Bangladeshis from entering the southeast Asian country during the January-October period for failing to fulfil terms of entry.

"These terms include having a return ticket, accommodation, a valid passport, no blacklist records, proof of adequate finances for the visit and a valid visa for visitors from countries required," its director-general Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud was quoted by Malaysian newspaper The Star as saying in a statement recently.

"If the foreigner does not fulfil these requirements, we will issue the not-to-land (NTL) notice," he added.

He said during the systems disruption at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport of late, his department used stricter measures to ensure that entry points were not compromised.

"During this period, we issued NTL notices to 365 individuals," he said, adding that from the 44,941 foreigners issued NTL notices between January and October this year, 20,676 were issued to Indonesians. Others were India nationals (6,398), China nationals (4,793), and Myanmar nationals (2,445).

He added that to ensure security at the entry points, the Home Ministry has allocated RM20mil for installation of closed-circuit television systems from January next year.

"Our department will also enhance integration of our Stolen and Lost Travel Document (SLTD) database system to ensure that passport data that is reported missing is shared to the whole world and can be tracked in case it is used at any entry point across the globe.

"The SLTD database will also hinder abuse of passports reported lost or stolen," he said.

According to Bangladesh government data, more than 500,000 Bangladeshi citizens work in Malaysia in different sectors; however, experts believe the actual number is higher.

Moreover, Malaysia is also a major tourist destination for Bangladeshis with 1,50,000 of them travelling the southeast Asian country last year.