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Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, May 21, 2025: Thousands of Bangladeshi workers, driven by the lack of legal migration opportunities, are resorting to illegal routes to enter Malaysia, only to face detention, deportation, and inhumane conditions. The Bangladesh Embassy in Kuala Lumpur has acknowledged the issue but remains unable to provide an accurate count of detained workers, exposing a critical gap in addressing the plight of these migrants.
On May 19, 2025, US-Bangla Airlines flight BS-316 repatriated 40 Bangladeshi workers from Kuala Lumpur. These individuals had entered Malaysia on tourist visas, intending to work, after paying between BDT 300,000 and 500,000 to intermediaries. Malaysian immigration police detained and deported them. Reports indicate that approximately 1,000 more workers remain stranded at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, enduring dire conditions, while several thousand others are held in immigration detention camps across the country.
Personal Stories of Desperation
Helena Begum, a resident of Munshiganj, is among those repatriated. Speaking to Kalabela aboard the return flight, she recounted borrowing BDT 350,000 at high interest to travel to Malaysia on May 16, 2025, with a 22-day tourist visa arranged by a local agent. Promised clearance by a contractor at the airport, she was detained by immigration authorities suspecting her intentions. After three days, she was deported. “My husband passed away, leaving me to support two children. I fell for the agent’s promises,” Helena said, noting that nearly 1,000 others, mostly Bangladeshis, remain detained at the airport.
Similarly, Elias Hossain from Shariatpur arrived in Kuala Lumpur on May 16, paying an agent BDT 100,000 upon landing. For two days, the agent misled him with false promises of clearance, leaving him without food or water. “I bought whatever I could from airport shops, but those without money went hungry,” Elias told Kalabela. On May 18, immigration authorities detained him, held him in a cell for a day, and fined him 120 Malaysian Ringgit before deporting him. Elias, who paid agent Shah Alam BDT 350,000, estimates over 1,000 workers are stuck at the airport, with those lacking return tickets or fine money facing imprisonment. Robiul Hossain from Paikgacha, Jessore, corroborated this, highlighting the scale of the crisis.
Malaysian Crackdown and Embassy’s Response
Malaysia’s Border Control and Security Agency (AKEPS) reported deporting 112 individuals who failed to appear at immigration counters within six hours of arrival, identified during routine monitoring of 300 foreigners. While AKEPS did not specify the number of Bangladeshis, it noted that detainees, including nationals from India and Pakistan, were suspected of loitering to meet intermediaries, raising doubts about their entry intentions. Detainees were taken to AKEPS’s monitoring unit for further investigation and formally denied entry.
Pronab Kumar Bhattacharya, Political Counselor at the Bangladesh Embassy, told Kalabela that workers frequently attempt illegal entry via tourist visas or risky routes like sea travel, orchestrated by unscrupulous recruiting and travel agencies. These workers often end up in detention camps, living in deplorable conditions. However, the embassy’s inability to provide precise figures underscores a lack of coordination and oversight.
Role of Intermediaries and Systemic Issues
The Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) has accused rogue operators, notably Fakrul Islam, a former BAIRA member, and Altab Khan of Afia Overseas, of running illegal migration networks. Fakrul, associated with Baridhara’s Human Resource Limited, allegedly opposes legal migration to protect his illicit operations. At a press conference on May 19 at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity, he faced backlash from BAIRA members for his stance against legal labor migration to Malaysia.
Altab Khan, previously detained in Malaysia for human trafficking and currently on bail with a confiscated passport, continues to facilitate illegal entries, according to BAIRA sources. Both are also implicated in sea-based human trafficking from Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar, and Patuakhali. An anonymous BAIRA leader revealed that a faction within the organization obstructs government efforts to open Malaysia’s labor market legally, as it threatens their illegal trafficking profits.
AI/MR
