Illegal migration to Malaysia still continues while thousands risk their lives illegally voyaging through the high sea to seek work in plantations, construction sites and factories there. The illegal migrants often take risky wooden boat journey to go to Malaysia, which also results death of dozens of people every year when boats carrying, mostly Bangladeshis and Rohingya Muslim refugees, keel over in the deep sea.More than 100 illegal migrants have been arrested by the Bangladesh Coast Guard [BGB] in the last couple of days. In the latest incident, they arrested 22 people at Najirartek point on Sunday while going to Malaysia through the Bay of Bengal. Security officials estimate that at least 25,000 Bangladeshi migrants attempt the journey to Malaysia illegally each year through the dangerous sea voyage. “We came to know that usually 30 to 40 per cent of passengers on these boats were Rohingya refugees and the rest were all Bangladeshis,” Lt Col Abuzar Al Zahid, 42nd Battalion of the BGB said.Sources said the human traffickers charge around US$1,000 to take Bangladeshis to Malaysia or Thailand by boat while it takes about 10 to 12 days to reach the destination.The traffickers operate at least two fishing boats daily carrying 70 people each to Malaysia from St. Martin’s Island. That means around 25,000 people migrate to Malaysia illegally every year, the sources added. “Initially, mostly Rohingyas and people of Cox’s Bazar tried to cross the Bay for Malaysia. Now the scenario has changed,” said Shirajuddin Belal, who is an official of Young Power in Social Action [YPSA], a Cox’s Bazar-based NGO. “People from other countries have also been arrested by the Coast Guards. That means the human trafficking syndicate has become stronger,” he said, adding that several recent cases also suggest that the trend is increasing.Recently, the Coast Guard in a drive arrested 63 people, including 16 foreign nationals, from the Bay of Bengal near Saint Martin’s Island. Of them, eight were Myanmar nationals, eight Thai citizens [crew members of the two boats] and four locals.According to the UNHCR, hundreds of people, including Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingya people from western Myanmar leave the Bay of Bengal on smugglers’ boats every year. Besides, the UN estimates that nearly 50 to 150 Bangladeshis travel to Malaysia every week by paying traffickers operating the illegal sea routes while the illegal migration and sea accidents reach a peak each November to March. “Our markets are closing and we could not explore new markets. The shrinking overseas opportunities are causing a migration crisis, as rural people increasingly risk their lives by boarding fishing boats to travel to Malaysia illegally in a bid to find better paying jobs,” Ali Haider Chowdhury, former General Secretary of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies, said.In a deadly incident, nine Bangladeshis were shot dead during a clash with the human traffickers on a Malaysia-bound trawler that was carrying some 300 illegal migrants on June 11.Officials said Bangladesh signed an agreement with Malaysia in November 2012 in order to reduce illegal migration, and only 4,500 workers have officially migrated to Malaysia since then. “Kuala Lumpur will hire 12,000 Bangladeshi workers for plantation jobs at Sarawak Plantation Berhad in Sarawak province in the current year,” Khondaker Showkat Hossain, said Secretary of Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment.
