Malaysia grills 2 of its Dhaka high commission officials over visa scam
The two officials were ordered to return to Malaysia and were remanded for three days
The Malaysian authorities have grilled two officers of its high commission in Dhaka for allegedly taking bribes in connection with the issuance of visas for Bangladeshi tourists and workers.
The Malaysian anti-corruption body took the action in the wake of many Bangladeshi workers' complaints that after they reached the Southeast Asian country, they did not get the jobs they were promised under contracts.
Bangladeshi recruiters welcomed Malaysia's initiative, saying that resolving the issue would alleviate the workers' miseries.
The two high commission officials were ordered to return to Malaysia and were remanded for three days until 20 April, reports Malaysian media outlet The Star, citing the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Tan Sri Azam Baki.
He did not rule out the possibility that more arrests would be made in connection with the case.
Citing sources, The Star reported that the two officers' assistance was needed by graft investigators probing into visa issues and the entry of tourists and workers from Bangladesh to Malaysia.
Sources with the knowledge of the investigation told Malaysian newspapers that graft investigators had discovered "suspicious transactions" involving accounts belonging to the two suspects. Consequently, they were ordered to return to Malaysia to explain the matter.
Sources said more than 20 accounts in connection with the scam had been frozen.
"To date, assets estimated to worth 3.1 million Malaysian ringgit have been seized. Aside from the accounts, eight plots of land have been seized in connection with the case," a source told The Star.
It is not immediately known whether the two suspects had been released when their remand order ended on Thursday.
"There are two types of corruption in issuing Malaysian visas. First, the corrupt officials of the Malaysian embassy, in connivance with a group of Bangladeshi travel agencies, issue tourist visas to people who are actually going to work there," Md Tipu Sultan, president of Recruiting Agencies' Oikya Parishad, told TBS.
"Secondly, the 100 Bangladeshi agencies that recruit workers in Malaysia charge around Tk4-5 lakh instead of Tk79,000 fixed by the authorities. Malaysian officers are also involved in this exploitative system," said Tipu, who is also the joint secretary of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira).
Around one and a half months earlier, Saudi Arabian authorities also arrested two former officials of its Dhaka embassy and a number of Bangladeshi nationals for their alleged involvement in corruption related to work visas in the gulf nation.
Welcoming the Malaysian and the Saudi Arabian authorities' anti-corruption drives, Baira Joint Secretary Tipu Sultan said, "Ultimately our workers will benefit from these initiatives. The anti-Corruption Commission in Bangladesh should also conduct similar operations to bring the corrupt agencies to justice."
Malaysia reopened its labour market to Bangladeshis after a hiatus of more than 3.5 years and started taking workers from the country in August last year under a new deal.
According to the latest update, Malaysia's labour department under its human resources ministry has approved hiring 358,892 new Bangladeshi workers, while there are already 134,595 Bangladeshi workers in that country.
The Bangladesh High Commission in Malaysia expressed hopes that if this trend continues, Malaysia will employ around five lakh new Bangladeshi workers within the next two-three years.
Malaysia probes cases of jobless migrant workers
Malaysia has recently launched an investigation to uncover how hundreds of migrant workers arrived from South Asia without securing any jobs despite paying steep fees to get employment, officials and rights groups told international media.
"The situation of what is estimated to be tens of thousands of Bangladeshi nationals migrating for work in Malaysia is nowadays often akin to modern day slavery. Due to severe debt bondage (from extortionate recruitment fees), limited freedom of movement (from passport confiscation, isolation, and language challenges), deception, and appalling living and work conditions, these workers are at high risk of forced labour and severe destitution," Andy Hall, a Kuala Lumpur-based independent labour activist, told TBS. His team has been in contact with the migrant workers.
The Malaysian government is investigating the matter, Asri Rahman, the director general of the country's labour department, told Reuters, but declined to provide details until completion of the inquiry.
The Bangladesh High Commission has called on the Malaysian authorities to verify the authenticity of recruitment letters, but the problem persists.
The embassy emphasised that as long as the Malaysian government's hiring process for foreign workers is transparent, there should not be any unemployed workers, the high commission said in a press statement on Saturday.