Malaysia has denied a claim that it would take in roughly 200,000 Bangladeshi workers over the next six months. Malaysian government spokesperson and Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil made the statement Wednesday at a press conference following a Cabinet meeting.
He said a claim made by a Bangladeshi deputy minister regarding the recruitment of workers in Malaysia does not represent Bangladesh’s official government position, adding that he had spoken with Malaysia’s human resources minister on the matter.
“A Bangladeshi deputy minister made a claim about recruiting workers. This is not an official position of the Bangladesh government. I’ve spoken with the human resources minister on this. I’ve been told the statement came from a deputy minister,” Fahmi said.
Fahmi also responded to concerns raised by the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, that Myanmar remains unsafe for the return of refugees.
Citing Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan, he said 1,476 refugees had signed a document in the first phase of a voluntary repatriation program stating they wished to return to Myanmar voluntarily.
Fahmi said Malaysia’s Home Ministry screened and compiled a list of 5,000 people from among more than 10,000 Myanmar refugees held by Malaysia’s immigration department. That list was sent to the Myanmar Embassy, and Myanmar’s government has agreed to take back 1,476 of them.
He added that Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry, and the foreign minister in particular, has assured that the repatriated refugees will not be harmed and will remain safe in Myanmar.
Earlier, on Tuesday, Bangladesh’s State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, Mir Shahe Alam, claimed that the process of recruiting Bangladeshi workers would begin in phases starting from late September. He made the comment to reporters after Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Abdul Moyeen Khan met with Malaysia’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Shuhada Osman.