As many as 500 Nepali workers are reported to have been rounded up by local authorities in the last one month. [break]
“We have written to the Department of Information of Malaysia, seeking information on the whereabouts of the workers and charges slapped on them,” Rishi Ram Adhikari, Nepali Ambassador to Malaysia told myrepublica.com.
He said more than 230 Nepali workers were already arrested before the recent crackdown which is aimed at discouraging overstaying and undocumented migrant workers. “Detained Nepali workers have been kept in 13 different camps and they will be deported or sent to jail depending on the charges that they are facing,” he added.
Adhikari further informed that the Malaysian authorities launched the crackdown amid pressure from local people to discourage illegal and undocumented workers on the back of financial crisis that triggered massive unemployment in the country. He estimated that around 15,000 Nepalis are illegally staying in Malaysia.
However, the manpower agents put the number at around 25,000 to 50,000.
Malaysia´s security personnel have been targeting outlets of money transfer companies and other places where the crowd of migrant workers is higher.
However, the crackdown has drawn flak from Nepali businesspeople doing business in Malaysia.
“Increasing vigilance in money transfer companies to discourage undocumented workers would ultimately discourage remitting money through official channel,” said Hari Man Lama, a Nepali businessman based in Malaysia. He said the strict policy on granting visa for those employed by foreign companies in Malaysia has created problem in hiring workers.
“Malaysian government is under pressure of local people who want foreign business people to hire local people in place of foreign workers,” Lama said, adding that Nepalis are running around 100 business enterprises in Malaysia.
Chandra Dhakal, president of International Money Exchange (IME) -- a leading remittance company -- said strict policy of scaling down workers in enterprises run by foreign businessmen has resulted in sharp decline in the number of Nepali workers employed there.
IME has around 60 outlets in Malaysia whereas Prabhu Money Transfer is running around two dozen counters.
However, ambassador Adhikari claimed that the process of issuing business visas for Nepali business people and white collar workers employed in different business establishments run by Nepalis has been easing with the improving economy there.
Nepali business people are hiring Nepali workers mainly in remittance counters and restaurants.
Malaysian authorities have intensified crackdown for the last few days. Latest in the series is the detention over 140 illegal migrants, including some Nepali workers, and crackdown on some business enterprises run by migrant people, according to barnama.com, official website of state news agency.
The integrated operation conducted by officers from immigration department, police, Rela and Kuala Lumpur City Hall, is aimed at rounding up illegal migrants.
prabhakar@myrepublica.com
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