FROM PAGE 5

Malaysia for failing to obtain air tickets despite possessing all valid documentation, expressed their helplessness by saying they had mortgaged land, sold livestock, and borrowed money from banks and relatives to pay the recruiting agencies.

“I had aspirations of securing a decent job in Malaysia to guarantee my family’s financial security,” said Anisul Islam of Manikganj.

“I paid Tk 5.30 lakh to the recruiting agencies and brokers, and now if the government provides only Tk 79,900 as the government fee, I will be destroyed,” he said.

Shariful Hasan, associate director of BRAC’s Migration and Youth Initiatives Programme, said if the ongoing discussion about sending them to Malaysia is successful, there will be a positive outcome.

“If it is not done and they are given only the government fee, they will surely be penniless due to the pressure of loans and other burdens,” he added.

In March, Malaysia announced May 31 as the deadline to bring in foreign workers.

The country resumed hiring Bangladeshi workers in 2022 after a four-year suspension over allegations of irregularities in recruitment process.

Between August 2022 and April 2024, nearly 4.50 lakh Bangladeshis migrated to Malaysia.

Last year, Malaysia was Bangladesh’s second-largest overseas job market after Saudi Arabia.