Despite having the necessary documents, up to 4,000 Bangladeshi migrant workers failed to travel to Malaysia due to a lack of air tickets, the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) said on Saturday.
"We have yet to finalize the numbers of Bangladeshi workers who managed to reach Malaysia and those who failed. Our office is closed today (Saturday), but we will provide those details tomorrow (Sunday)," said Baira Secretary General Ali Haider Chowdhury.
He estimated that around 3,000-4,000 workers might have missed their flights because they could not secure air tickets by the deadline to reach Kuala Lumpur, which ended on Friday, reports The Daily Star.
Biman special flight for workers to Malaysia on Friday eveningOn Friday, several hundred Malaysia-bound migrant workers faced uncertainty as they waited for hours at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. They arrived at the airport without plane tickets after being assured by local recruitment agents that tickets would be provided on time. Some workers complained that the agents were not answering their phones.
In March, Malaysian authorities announced that workers from Bangladesh and 13 other countries would be barred from entering the country after May 31.
According to data from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training, nearly 450,000 Bangladeshi workers travelled to Malaysia between August 2022 and April this year. Malaysia reopened its labour market to Bangladesh in 2022 after a four-year suspension. Last year, Malaysia was the second-largest overseas job market for Bangladesh.
