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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has turned down a request from Bangladesh to lift an eight-month-old freeze on taking in new Bangladeshi workers, reports said on Monday.
Malaysia in March cancelled the work visas of 55,000 Bangladeshi workers who had not yet arrived in Malaysia, citing fears of layoffs amid the global recession.
Prime Minister Najib Razak told state media he had denied Bangladesh premier Sheikh Hasina Wajed's request to lift the ban, at a meeting on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad and Tobago.
"I explained to her that we decided on the freeze to prevent unscrupulous agents from exploiting the workers," Najib told Bernama.
He said many agents had duped Bangladeshi workers into believing they had well-paying jobs for them in Malaysia, and that some had sold their belongings to fund their journey.
Migrant rights group Tenaganita said the March freeze was the fourth time since 1996 that Malaysia has banned the intake of Bangladeshi workers.
Malaysia in January also banned the hiring of new foreigners in the manufacturing and services sectors after a report forecast 45,000 Malaysians would lose their jobs in the following months.
The country relies heavily on foreign workers, particularly in the construction and farming sectors where positions are filled by labourers from Indonesia, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Periodic moves to reduce the foreign workforce, along with allegations of exploitation and mistreatment of migrant labourers, have affected Malaysia's relations with regional nations.
- AFP/so
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