State minister sets July 18 deadline for refunds to workers missing Malaysia travel

State Minister for Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Shofiqur Rahman Choudhury has announced a deadline of Jul 18 for agencies to refund Bangladeshi workers who completed formalities but were unable to travel to Malaysia.

According to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training, or BMET, 17,777 visa holders could not travel by the final working day, he said in a press conference at his office on Thursday, reports bdnews24.com. 

"It's unfortunate for those who couldn't go. Many have sold land, and some cattle," he said.

"On Jun 2, we formed an investigation committee which found that people from 100 different agencies were unable to travel."

According to the Malaysian government, the last day of entry for Bangladeshi expatriate workers to travel to the country was May 31. No one can enter the country on a work visa after the deadline.

Taking advantage of the situation, some agencies increased the fare for this route several times over, from Tk 30,000 to more than Tk 100,000.

Amid uncertainty about the availability of air tickets, many desperate to travel flocked to Dhaka airport on May 31 after they were called by their agencies. Some were unable to obtain tickets, while others fell prey to agency scams. As the day progressed, the anxious crowd lingered in the area, with tensions escalating.

In an effort to alleviate the crisis, Biman Bangladesh Airlines operated an additional flight from Dhaka to Kuala Lumpur on the evening of May 31. However, this effort only enabled 271 additional passengers to make the trip.

That night, after a gruelling day of waiting, hundreds of people left the airport with broken dreams.

Out of the 532,000 workers slated to travel to Malaysia under a 2022 agreement, 476,000 have already departed, Shofiqur said in the press conference.

According to data from BMET, the Expatriates’ Welfare Ministry approved 523,834 workers to travel to Malaysia as of May 21. Though it was not supposed to approve any others after that date, it did grant permission to another 1,112 afterwards.

BMET data says some 31,701 were not able to make the trip to Malaysia despite getting approvals.

"We held a meeting with BAIRA (Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies) yesterday. They agreed to issue refunds upon presentation of evidence, committing to return the money within 15 days by July 18. Non-compliance will result in legal action without exception," said the state minister.

He said: "Our immediate goal is to recover the funds, followed by further actions. Even after refunds, the priority will be to discuss future pathways for travel to Malaysia in a joint working group meeting later this month. Workers unable to travel will be placed on the priority list if pathways to Malaysia reopen."

When asked about reasons for workers' inability to go to Malaysia and the investigation committee's findings, the minister explained: "Employers in the receiving country issued demand notes late, and many received visas late. We are addressing these issues. Our primary goal is to secure employment opportunities for those unable to travel to Malaysia or other countries."

The ministry has urged affected workers to email their complaints. In response, the state minister said, "We have compiled a list of affected individuals. Around 2,025 people have filed complaints with supporting documents."

"BAIRA leaders have taken responsibility for addressing issues with the implicated agencies based on these complaints."

A public notice from the ministry included instructions on how these aspiring expatriate workers could file complaints over the issue.