Malaysia and Nepal to sign G2G accord

Published On: August 15, 2018 08:34 AM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, Aug 15: The Malaysian government on Tuesday said that it would soon sign a memorandum of understanding with Nepal to address issues concerning Nepali migrant workers in Malaysia.

“We want to have a government-to-government (G2G) agreement just like we have with Bangladesh, but the system will be the same,” The Star newspaper in Malaysia quoted Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad as saying.

At a press conference organized after he chaired a meeting in parliament on foreign workers, the prime minister said Bangladesh, Nepal and other countries will be brought under the same system for hiring migrant workers.

Last month, the Nepal government stopped sending workers to Malaysia after it emerged that they were overcharged under different headings during visa processing. The Malaysian government had appointed VLN P Ltd to provide visa processing services from its Kathmandu-based embassy. Other firms were also allowed to collect fees from migrant workers for medical checkups and other tests.

After the Malaysian government allowed multiple companies to provide such services, Nepali migrant workers were paying in excess of Rs. 17,000 for visa processing.

According to a government assessment, Nepali migrant workers had paid more than Rs 5 billion in the last five years.