Human smuggling from Bangladesh to Malaysia under the guise of tourist has surged as desperate jobseekers are using the tourist visa to enter the country illegally after the suspension of regular labour migration by Malaysia on May 31 past year.
Migration experts said that human smuggling had increased since the suspension of migration by the Southeast Asian country for at least four times since 2000 with brief reopening in between.
As per the reported cases, Malaysia has denied entry to at least 771 foreign nationals, including the highest 鈥� at least 270 Bangladeshi nationals, since March as travellers failed to meet immigration requirements as tourist.
Human smuggling to Malaysia continues not only from Bangladesh but also from 15 other countries, including India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The countries are the migrant labour suppliers to Malaysia in the same format.
Mozaffor Ahmed, a resident of Chakaria in Cox鈥檚 Bazar, wanted to migrate to Malaysia as labourer, but the door has remained shut for a year. Lured by a local intermediary, he took the risk of reaching Malaysia as a tourist.
On January 24, Mozaffor migrated to Malaysia, spending Tk 4.80 lakh with the hope of bringing prosperity in life, but he was deported from Malaysia on May 10.
Mozaffor told 抖阴精品 that he did not want to go Malaysia illegally but the intermediary, who is now absconding from the village, lured him to going to the country by saying that he would get work visa after he arrived as tourist.
Mozaffor said that he was not given promised job and he became undocumented.
鈥業 was not given any job rather they [the intermediary] tortured me, demanding more money. The intermediary has taken Tk聽1.20 lakh more from my family. Finally, they handed me over to police,鈥� he added.
He said that after four months in jail, he was deported.
Malaysia is one of the top destination countries for Bangladeshi migrant workers, with 12,97,333 workers entering the country since 2004. Bangladeshi workers are employed mainly in agriculture, restaurant, factory and service sectors.
The latest, the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport barred at least 198 foreigners, including 123 Bangladeshis from entering Malaysia for failing to meet immigration requirements as tourist though they wanted to enter Malaysia as tourist.
The Malaysian agency said that the violations, including dubious accommodation bookings, failure to report to immigration and insufficient funds to support their stay were the reasons for barring them from entering the country.
鈥楾hese are classic red flags of non-genuine travellers. Many had no accommodation plans and could not explain their presence here, which strongly aligns with what we鈥檝e observed in smuggling attempts,鈥� Shuhaily Mohd Zain, director-general of the MCBA, said at a press conference.
On Jul 11, about 96 Bangladeshis were similarly deported from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport after arriving with tourist visas.
Experts said that the cases were the example of human smuggling under the guise of tourism.
Justice and Care鈥檚 Bangladesh country director Tariqul Islam said that the human smuggling victims were too vulnerable, so they could be at high risk of human trafficking.
He explained that now the people were entering to Malaysia with tourist visa and the visa date would expire within a short period of time and then the people would be undocumented.
鈥楿ndocumented people are one of the worst victims of trafficking because traffickers pick them as easy prey,鈥� he added.
Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit鈥檚 acting executive director Tasneem Siddiqui suspected that travel agencies were involved in the cases reported in Malaysia.
鈥楾he government should investigate the cases and bring the culprits to book and work to reopen the Malaysia door for regular migration,鈥� she added.
Interim government鈥檚 chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus is expected to visit Malaysia on August 11.
Experts urged him to talk to the Malaysian authorities for reopening the market immediately.
A senior official of immigration police said that they strictly checked the travel document of any person before immigration and offloaded a number of travellers if they had document issues.
鈥楨ven after the strong scrutiny some people were denied entry but the destination country鈥檚 immigration did not explain reasons,鈥� he said.
He observed that there were a number of reasons, but in many cases language was a huge barrier.
Despite scrutiny, some people smuggled as the police check documents not mind, he added.
