Published March 11, 2009

KL revokes Bangladeshis' work visas

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(KUALA LUMPUR) Malaysia yesterday cancelled work visas issued to 55,000 Bangladeshi workers after demands from unions, as the country faces layoffs and the threat of recession.

Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar said that Bangladeshi workers who had visas approved last year, but who had not yet arrived in Malaysia, would not be allowed to take up employment here.

'This is due to the current scenario in the country, in that there is no need for foreign labour, except for certain sectors identified by the government,' he said, according to the state news agency Bernama.

A furore erupted after Bangladeshi labour envoy Talat Mahmud Khan reportedly said that 70,000 workers would be arriving soon to take up jobs in Malaysia. Mr Syed Hamid said that the number was 55,147.

The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) led the call for the workers to be banned, saying that the situation for Malaysians was bleak enough without additional foreign manpower being brought in.

'More workers are calling us to report that they are facing retrenchment, their working hours reduced and their overtime slashed,' MTUC vice-president A Balasubramaniam told The New Straits Times.



In January, the government banned the hiring of new foreigners in the manufacturing and services sectors after a report forecast 45,000 Malaysians would lose their jobs in the next few months.

However, Human Resources Minister S Subramaniam had defended the presence of the Bangladeshi workers, saying that they would be taking up jobs in the plantation and construction sector, where the ban does not apply. - AFP