Roshan Sedhai

Around 40,000 Nepali migrant workers stare at immediate deportation as Malaysia prepares to begin its ‘’biggest-ever’’ crackdown on illegal migrant workers.

According to media reports, the Malaysian government is planning to start arresting an estimated half a million foreign nationals working illegally in the Islamic kingdom.

The three-month-long crackdown, which is seen as a measure to ‘flush out unwanted foreigners’, is expected to begin on Sunday, The Star, a Malaysia-based English language newspaper, reported on Wednesday.

Malaysia is one of the biggest work destinations for Nepali workers in terms of existing volume of the migrants who number around 650,000. According to the Department of Foreign Employment, Malaysia took in 156,770 Nepali migrants in the fiscal year 2012-13, up from the 98,367 the previous year. 

On the planned crackdown, the Nepali Embassy in Kuala Lumpur said it has not received any official information so far. “We read the news in today’s newspapers, but I cannot say anything until we get a confirmation from the Malaysian government,” Labour Attache at the embassy Amal Kiran Dhakal told the Post. According to the embassy, there were 32,000 Nepalis working illegally in the kingdom a year ago, while that data has not been revised.

Former second secretary of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA), Kumud Khanal, said there is a big trend among Nepali workers to leave their original workplaces and get into security-related jobs. “This trend increased after the Malaysian government officially announced it would prefer Nepalis in the security jobs for their veritable reputation in that sector,” said Khanal.

Although workers can change jobs, it should happen under the country’s legal framework and without violating the contract with the former employer. However, instead of going the legal way, Nepali workers often run away from their original employer, leaving behind important documents like the passport, and go to work with other employers without a contract.

Media reports said the Malaysian authorities’ target will be mostly those who registered for an amnesty scheme for illegal workers two years ago but failed to appear for deportation or legalisation. The 2011 mass amnesty had opened doors for around 37,000 workers to get themselves documented.

The Star quoted Malaysian Immigration director-general Datuk Alias Ahmad as saying that the operation would be like “a cat and mouse” game, but “we are fully prepared for it.”

“We are aware that they know we are coming for them, and come Sunday, they will suddenly disappear. They can hide, but how long can they hide? This is not a one-off crackdown but a three-month non-stop operation throughout the country,” he said. The newspaper quoted Alias as saying that the department would seek the cooperation of foreign missions through Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue the illegals with travel documents. Officials have said that the workers will be deported soon after their arrest to avoid chaos at detention centres. The operation will concentrate on Kaula Lampur, Selangor, Penang and Johar provinces where the density of illegal workers is supposedly high. Malaysia, the third-largest economy in Southeast Asia, is a prime work destination for Nepali, Indonesian, Bangladeshi, Burmese and Vietnamese nationals.

Published on: 29 August 2013 | The Kathmandu Post