Clock ticking for 26,000 migrants
FROM PAGE 1
While e-passport delivery has been smooth due to a digital process, approximately 26,096 MRP applications remain stuck due to a shortage of MRP booklets, leaving applicants like Khorshed in a precarious situation.
Amid the worsening crisis, the Department of Immigration and Passports (DIP) on October 28 requested the Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur to charge additional fees to MRP applicants to provide e-passports instead, citing a critical shortage of MRP booklets.
IRREGULARITIES
On September 22 last year, the high commission signed a deal with outsourcing company Expert Service Kuala Lumpur (ESKL) for e-passport processing and visa services, upon approval from the home and foreign ministry.
Mia Mohammad Keyamuddin, councillor (passport and visa) at the high commission, signed the deal with ESKL with a service charge of 32 ringgits for each application.
Although ESKL has government permission to provide both MRP and e-passport services, the high commission’s passport wing signed the deal for e-passport and visa processing so that the wing can handle MRP processing.
Pranab Kuman Bhattacharjee, councillor (political) at the high commission, sent a show-cause notice to Manzil Hossain, an office assistant at the passport wing, on September 26 over his involvement in irregularities.
The notice asked Manzil to explain an audio conversation in which he was heard saying, “Many people are involved with embassy and passport work in Malaysia. Their earning fully depends on this work, as they have no other means of income.”
At one point in the conversation, the notice read, Manzil was heard saying, “If the high commissioner gives any order, I have access to make a counter to the high commissioner. He knows everything about my connections with two to three ministers … Bahauddin Nasim, Asaduzzaman Kamal …. They are like family, relatives.”
Pranab sent another show-cause notice to the passport wing’s councillor Keyamuddin on October 23.
An internal task force had found irregularities in MRP applications, including unsigned applications and identical signatures across multiple applications.
The notice asked why Keyamuddin approved such applications by violating the rules.
This newspaper obtained copies of the notices.
A senior official at the high commission, who wished not to be named, told The Daily Star: “We have received replies to the notices. We are now analysing their claims. If the allegations are found to be true, administrative action will be taken.”
Keyamuddin did not take phone calls or reply to messages for comments.
Bangladesh High Commissioner to Malaysia Shameem Ahsan did not answer queries from The Daily Star about pending MRP applications, steps to address the issue, and allegations of mismanagement and irregularities against officials.
RUNNING OUT OF TIME
In Malaysia, expatriates unable to renew their visas due to passport delays or financial constraints can obtain up to eight special monthly passes at 200 ringgits each.
They must either return home or face the risk of staying without valid documents if the visa is not renewed in this period.
Uzzal Hossain, a Bangladeshi expatriate in Malaysia, submitted his passport renewal application on May 15, with a promised delivery date of October 25. By November, he had yet to receive it.
“I’ve already taken six special passes against my visa. If I can’t renew my visa within two months, my life will be stuck,” Uzzal said over the phone.
Amid the crisis, High Commissioner Shameem sent a letter to the senior secretary of the home ministry on November 18, highlighting documentation issues faced by expatriates applying for e-passports.
To prevent mass job losses in the country, he recommended allowing an alternative process for issuing MRPs to those with information mismatches, and spelling issues of names in their national identity cards or other documents.
The letter also noted that the high commission and ESKL were charging additional fees to renew and upgrade MRPs to e-passports of those who have necessary documents as per the directives.
He said the problems need to be solved quickly since the issue is creating grievances among expatriates. Otherwise, the situation may spiral out of control and will pose “security risk” to the high commission and ESKL officials, reads the letter, of which a copy this newspaper obtained.
CONTACT TERMINATED
High commission sources said ESKL has been providing day-long services with 45 desks to around 800 people daily, while the high commission does not have such facilities or manpower.
Now the high commission is looking for an alternative since the contract with ESKL has been terminated.
Contacted, High Commissioner Shameem shared the termination document, stating, “I have nothing to add except this (document).”
The document, issued on December 3, revealed that the agreement, signed on September 22, 2023, would be terminated after three months’ notice, effective March 2, 2025.
ESKL Managing Director Gias Ahamad said the six-year agreement included a probationary clause for the first year and was extendable to another five years based on performance.
He claimed there was no mismanagement on their side. “But our contract was terminated without any justification.”
“Middlemen, who used to embezzle 300-500 ringgits from expats for passport renewal, opposed our operation from the beginning.”
None from the high commission, however, agreed to talk about the issues on record.
A high official at the high commission requesting anonymity told this newspaper that they were working, and hopeful to find out a solution soon.
Shah Mohammad Tanvir Monsur, director general of the foreign ministry’s consular and welfare wing, refused to talk about the issue. “The high commission in Kuala Lumpur will take necessary steps in this regard,” he told The Daily Star yesterday.
The Daily Star contacted Md Firoz Sarker, additional secretary (security and immigration wing) at the Security Services Division of the home ministry who was recently transferred as Khulna divisional commissioner, for comments regarding the MRP crisis and delivery delays.
“We have some problems regarding our LC (Letter of Credit) to import foil papers for MRP,” he said.
“We have already addressed the problems and the crisis will be solved at the earliest possible time.”