The Nepal Health Professional Federation (NHPF) has urged the Nepali Embassy in Kuala Lumpur to lobby for the implementation of an agreement signed between Nepali and Malaysian authorities last year.

In a letter to the Nepali embassy, the NHPF has asked Dr Rishi Raj Adhikari, Nepal´s ambassador to Malaysia, to seriously take up the issue. The NHPF has decided to seek diplomatic help as Malaysian authorities irrespective of the deal did not stop returning Nepali laborers suffering from minor health problems.  

In December last year, a Nepali delegation comprising health authorities and professionals had held several rounds of talks with Malaysian health and labor ministry officials, asking Malaysia to stop returning Nepali workers who fail to acclimatize to the new atmosphere. Malaysian authorities had agreed to the demand put forth by the Nepali delegation in a deal signed on December 11.

However, even after five months, Malaysian authorities continue to return Nepali workers terming them “environmentally unsuitable” in their health reports. “Malaysian authorities had assured us that they would specify the problem if they returned any worker,” said Khadga Shrestha, president of the NHPF. “They did not keep their promise.”

According to Shrestha, most of the points in the agreement remain unfulfilled. As per the agreement, Malaysian authorities can not return Nepali workers suffering from minor health problems. “This promise also remains unfulfilled,” he said.

During meetings with Malaysian authorities, calcification had appeared as one of the most contentious issues. Malaysian authorities saw calcification as signs of tuberculosis.

However, Nepali health officials had maintained that calcification might be some minor problems, too. Eventually, they had decided to sort out this issue by drafting a policy. But, no initiative has been taken by Malaysia so far to this effect.

Many Nepali workers have been forced to return from foreign countries, mainly Malaysia, when they fail medical tests there. It has raised a question over the credibility of medical tests conducted by the NHPF-affiliated institutions in Nepal. However, the NHPF states that it is not due to the inefficacy of Nepali medical tests but differences in perceiving minor problems like calcification and workers´ failure in acclimatizing to the new environment.