Staff Reporter :
About 60,000 Bangladeshi migrant workers in Malaysia are upset by severe food crisis at the time when the world is fighting against the pandemic coronavirus thunder.
From different areas of Malaysia, many Bangladeshi migrant workers have contacted with us for food after the lockdown started, said Harun Al Rashid, a Human Rights worker of Malaysia. He works with various organization.
He said that food aid was not reaching them due to restrictions on transportation and movement.
In an interview with BBC Bangla, Harun Al Rashid said “Workers who are working in large plantations or factories are not met by particular problems.” “Small factory workers who work under labour contractors are at risk,” he said.
It is estimated that more than five lakh Bangladeshi workers are working in Malaysia, both legal and illegal.
But the picture is not clear to us as to what they are doing during the coronavirus crisis.
But Harun al-Rashid said, about 60,000 workers are suffering from food shortages.
“Earlier this month, we created a database of these workers. That statistic says that 60,000 workers have applied to us for food aid.”
These workers are mainly in the states of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. A significant number of Bangladeshis live in Johor Bahru and Penang also.
Haroon Al Rashid said that some Malaysian local NGOs had helped them at he outset
But they have no access to food items as they are not allowed to operate during lockdown.
“Our volunteers in Klang Valley have been able to deliver food,” he said. “We have plenty of food. But we can’t take that food away because we are not allowed to move.”
