Bangladeshi workers employed with a Malaysian company are living in dire state as the employer refrained from renewing their jobs breaching the service agreement and making them illegal after just one year in service.
Out of the 94 workers recruited by the KAY Corporation Sdn Bhd a little more than a year ago, 89 have become illegal. Two of them have already been served with six months in jail, while four others have been arrested by immigration police and waiting for an imprisonment order. Others are making frantic efforts to avoid arrests.
“We are in dire state. We can’t stay at our dorms at night. We have to spend our nights in jungles to avoid arrest,” Mohammad Zakaria, a worker of the company told The News Times.
The KAY Corporation hired 94 Bangladeshi workers for three years in 2023, with a provision for renewal of employment after completion of each year of service. But the jobs 89 workers were not renewed after the first year.
Sources in Malaysia said the one-year service of 30 workers expired on September 17, 2024, while that of 38 workers expired on October 22, 2024 and 21 workers on November 8, 2024.
As the jobs were not renewed, all these workers have become illegal in Malaysia and are at risk of being arrested and jailed for illegal stay, although the employer deducting 220 ringgit from the wages of each of the workers every month on the ground of renewing permits.
Several workers while talking to The News Times said this is a common scenario in Malaysia. The employers there often get rid of the legal workers, with relatively high wages with other fringe benefits, and employ the illegal ones at lower wages.
These workers, forced to become illegal, are left with no choice but to live there illegally and look for jobs at lower wages, as they had to get the jobs paying large amount of money to the manpower agencies. Many of these workers even had to sell properties at home to pay for the employments.
The Bangladesh mission in Kuala Lumpur is well aware of it. But they hardly get any support from the High Commission officials, they added.
The Kay Corporation also breached several other provisions of the employment agreement. The company kept these workers waiting for three months last year before they could join the service. The food, lodging and utility charges were also deducted from their wages in violation of the employment agreement.
The company also deducted advance income tax (levi) from the wages of the workers each month, although the employment agreement provides for payment the tax by the employer.
Another worker, Md Toriqul, said his visa expired two months ago and he didn’t get four months’ wages from the company. “When we ask for wages, they use abusive words and say that they won’t help the workers if they are arrested by police.”
Zakaria said, “We submitted an application to the High Commission one and half months ago informing them of the situation. We also sent an e-mail to the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare & Overseas Employment. But no response came either from the ministry or from the High Commission.”
He said he had to pay Tk 480,000 to the manpower agency and he managed the money by taking loans through mortgaging land. Now he is in deep trouble as the employer didn’t pay his four months’ wages, he added.
Another worker, Foyzul Molla, said the company paid his monthly wages in three installments and five months’ wages are still due. Now he has become illegal in Malaysia, as his job permit was not renewed, he added. “I am still working for the company without a permit, but with fear of arrest by the police. I spend nights in park to escape from the police.”
Asked, CEO of KAY Corporation William Au Yong blamed his manpower agent for supplying unskilled workers and farmers for the job. However, when asked how these workers did their job for one long year despite being unskilled, he said they were trained by the company.
On non-payment of 4/5 months’ wages, he said the company didn’t get the output they expected from the workers.
When asked why he didn’t renew job permit of the workers despite deducting 220 ringgit from their wages each month, William said the manpower agent didn’t advise him in due time. “The agents cannot just wash their hand after supplying the workers. They have a responsibility.”
When asked about the workers arrested and jailed, he said he would engage lawyer to get them out. On other workers, making frantic efforts to avoid arrest, he said he would issue special pass for them.
None of the workers without permit has received such pass till the writing of this report on Monday.
Asked, manpower agent Md Quamruzzaman said the company gave requirement for construction electrician and they supplied workers accordingly. “There is no scope for sending farmers,” he said, adding the agent’s responsibility ends once the workers are delivered. Agents are are not supposed to adivse on renewing permits, he noted.
When asked, Labour Counselor of Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur Syed Shariful Islam expressed his ignorance about the issue.
But when he was informed of the application submitted by the workers to the High Commission in early October, he checked and later said, “We have to go through a process to get these situation addressed. We have to call the employers for discussion and if the discussion fails, we contact the concerned government authorities.”
Asked, why nothing of that sort was done in late November to avert arrest and imprisonment of the workers even after receiving the application more than a month ago, he said: “We can’t do anything hastily. This is a sensitive issue. We have to talk to the employers first.”
Adviser for the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare & Overseas Employment Asif Nazrul could not be reached for comment despite repeated attempts. He neither received phone calls nor did he reply to the message sent over WhatsApp.
