NEWS media reported that Malaysian Immigration Department on Thursday arrested 28 Bangladeshi citizens for allegedly operating an unauthorised homestay service in Kuala Lumpur. No proper document was found with the detainees. The shocking news tells reveals that our expatriate Bangladeshis are involving with the illegal business that at the end is blurring Bangladesh’s image and narrows the scope for mobility of Bangladeshi nationals in other states.
The Bangladesh Embassy in Kuala Lumpur should take such incidents as a warning and put out a message to the Bangladeshis that such criminal involvement would not be sheltered and they must stay out of it. We must remind the expatriate nationals that they are the real ambassadors of the country to the receiving country and such criminal involvement wrongly show case Bangladesh’s image.
The Immigration Office said they found seven different companies simultaneously carrying out homestay business without permits. Earlier, on January 12, Malaysian Immigration Department detained a Bangladeshi expatriate in a raid for allegedly running a trafficking gang. On the same day, the immigration department, after weeks of surveillance, raided the house of another Bangladeshi national and found 50 Bangladeshis staying there mostly blacklisted by the department. In December 2017, a Bangladeshi film director was detained by the Malaysian police for alleged trafficking on the pretext of organising a cultural event.
In our view Bangladesh government on our side should put out strong warning to our nationals not to be involved in such crime during training for outgoing labours. They must not become part of network promoting homestay facilities to illegal expatriates. We must say the government should collect detail information about the crime records of the detainees from the Malaysian Immigration. The Bangladesh Embassy should also extend legal help to those who seems to be victim of wrong information or for failing to comprehend the consequences.
It can’t be denied that the contribution of Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia economy is very strong and they deserve to be pardoned. But action against willful offenders must start to combat human trafficking under the cover of manpower export.
The Bangladesh Embassy in Kuala Lumpur should take such incidents as a warning and put out a message to the Bangladeshis that such criminal involvement would not be sheltered and they must stay out of it. We must remind the expatriate nationals that they are the real ambassadors of the country to the receiving country and such criminal involvement wrongly show case Bangladesh’s image.
The Immigration Office said they found seven different companies simultaneously carrying out homestay business without permits. Earlier, on January 12, Malaysian Immigration Department detained a Bangladeshi expatriate in a raid for allegedly running a trafficking gang. On the same day, the immigration department, after weeks of surveillance, raided the house of another Bangladeshi national and found 50 Bangladeshis staying there mostly blacklisted by the department. In December 2017, a Bangladeshi film director was detained by the Malaysian police for alleged trafficking on the pretext of organising a cultural event.
In our view Bangladesh government on our side should put out strong warning to our nationals not to be involved in such crime during training for outgoing labours. They must not become part of network promoting homestay facilities to illegal expatriates. We must say the government should collect detail information about the crime records of the detainees from the Malaysian Immigration. The Bangladesh Embassy should also extend legal help to those who seems to be victim of wrong information or for failing to comprehend the consequences.
It can’t be denied that the contribution of Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia economy is very strong and they deserve to be pardoned. But action against willful offenders must start to combat human trafficking under the cover of manpower export.
