A high-level government delegation from Bangladesh began a fact-finding mission into problems faced by Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia.

The delegation consists of the secretary-general from both the Bangladeshi Home Ministry and the Expatriate Worker's Ministry, who would be here on a four-day visit.

Bangladeshi High Commissioner to Malaysia M Khairuzzaman (left) said the delegation would be looking into various aspects of problems faced by their countrymen here.

"They are looking at the problems in general and would be trying to plug the loop holes," said Khairuzzaman when met by Malaysiakini today.

Khairuzzaman confirmed that the delegation was also looking at the labour outsourcing policy employed by the Malaysian government.

The policy, which gave rise to outsourcing companies which imports workers from Bangladesh, have been often blamed by NGOs as the root of problems faced by Bangladeshis here.

A glaring example of the policy's flaws, said rights group Tenaganita, was the current problems faced in KLIA where thousands of migrant workers, mainly Bangladeshis, are being housed in deplorable conditions.

The Bangladeshis are stranded there because their agents and employers failed to collect them from the airport.

Meeting NGOs

This morning, the Bangladeshi fact-finding team met up with representatives from Tenaganita and other human rights NGOs where they were presented with a memorandum detailing the problems being faced by Bangladeshi workers.

The memorandum, among others, suggested that the Bangladeshi government stop sending workers to Malaysia until the problems faced by workers who are already in the country are resolved.

The memorandum also urged the Bangladeshi High Commission to set up a permanent mechanism for their nationals to lodge complaints and seek redress in their employment related issues.

Human rights lawyer Latheefa Koya when contacted later said the Bangladeshi delegation assured the Malaysian NGOs that the matter would be thoroughly studied.

She added that the delegation also assured that it would look into tightening of its mechanism to regulate recruiting agents in Bangladesh.

"We also recommended that the Bangladeshi government should recognise the need that the welfare of the workers should be shouldered by employers and not the outsourcing companies," she said.

Repatriation

In another development, the Bangladeshi delegation visited a group of 82 Bangladeshis that a presently seeking refuge in the compound of a religious institution in Rawang.

The group claimed that they were cheated by their recruiting agents and employers and were seeking a passage home from the high commission.

Initially, they were on hunger strike at the Bangladeshi High Commission compound before they were asked to vacate the premises. Following this, they were sent to several locations before a religious institution offered them temporary accommodation.

According to Tenaganita, under a deal worked out between the delegation, the high commission, the recruitment agency and the local employer, workers would be sent back to Bangladesh in stages within the next 15 days.

The Bangladesh government would also attempt to compel the recruiment agency to refund the workers the fees paid, around RM12,000, to seek employment in Malaysia.

Khairuzzaman denied that the workers were assaulted in the high commission compound, an allegation made by Tenaganita which had been widely reported in Bangladesh.

"There was an argument... an exchange of words took place," said Khairuzzaman.