PORIMOL PALMA

Asif Nazrul, adviser for law and expatriates’ welfare ministries, has given his contact information to some Bangladeshis working in Malaysia, urging them to contact him if they face any trouble.

He was talking to the migrants during a visit to Mediceram, a hand gloves company in the Malaysian state of Negeri Sembilan, yesterday.

He requested the Bangladeshi workers to resolve any problems through discussion instead of doing anything that could be harmful to them and the company.

“Please directly communicate with me,” he told the migrants, asking them to collect his phone number and email ID from his Private Secretary Sarwoer Alam.

Nazrul is visiting Malaysia and is scheduled to hold meetings with Malaysian Human Resources Minister Steven Sim and Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail in Putrajaya today.

The Bangladeshis employed by Mediceram said nearly 200 of them were recruited in 2018 and 2023, but they were underpaid and their payments were irregular.

“This prompted us to hold demonstrations, and report to the labour department and even to our high commission, but nothing happened,” a migrant told this correspondent from Malaysia yesterday.

Having spent Tk 4-5 lakh on recruitment, the migrants were indebted and frustrated. They then communicated with a migrants’ rights group and demanded repayment of the recruitment fees.

At one point in time, Mediceram agreed to repay the recruitment fees, 22,500 Malaysian Ringgit (RM) each, since April in 12 instalments.

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