Over 11,000 Nepalis have gone missing in Malaysia — a preferred foreign job market — and are out of contact with their families and friends. Most people are unaccounted for as they prefer to stay back there after marrying Malaysian, Indonesian or Filipino women, said president of Pravasi Nepali Coordination Committee Mahendra Pandey in an interaction today.

Nepali Samaj Malaysia has identified about 5,000 Nepalis who have married foreigners and stayed back in Malaysia. “The number could be more,” he said, adding that both married and unmarried Nepali migrants are engaged in the trend. “Among them, 2,000 workers were already married and have spouses back home,” he added.

The Malaysian government’s record also shows that the unaccounted population has been increasing.For example, the Malaysian government has recorded about 36,000 children born to unaccounted migrant workers in Sabah state alone. “There might be Nepali fathers in a large number,” said Pandey.

Kamal Dawadi, a migrant worker from Jhapa, who left the country for Malaysia in 2004, is unaccounted for since the last eight years.“We have not heard from him ever since he left for Malaysia,” said his spouse Sakuntala Dawadi. “We don’t know whether he is alive or not,” she added.

Currently, Sakuntata is inKathmandu to request authorities to find out the status of her husband.A documentary — Ananta Parkhai — prepared by the committee, briefs the situation of households whose sons have disappeared in Malaysia since 2002. People from Mechi to Mahakali have been affected. There are hundreds of families whose members are unaccounted for in Malaysia, said a migrant rights activist Som Prasad Lamichhane.

When people are unac counted for then it becomes a major problem for both the sending and receiving coun try. “Thousands of families have settled down in Malaysia,“ said Malaysian immigration expert Renuka T Balasubramanian. “But the sending country should identify them and their status.” According to her, it is a subject of grave importance and related more to human psychology. She advised the Nepali government to investigate the status of their disappeared citizens. She advised job aspirants to learn about the Malaysian legal system before leaving for the country. “Workers should have basic knowledge about recruitment and job changing process. If they don’t follow the legal process they will become illegal or unaccounted for,” she said, adding that Malaysia has specific job markets for specific countries or regions.

For example, Nepalis can only join jobs in agriculture, manufacturing and service sectors. “People must be aware of this,” she said.

According to her, people should not accept offers which are not in the officially approved job sectors.Malaysia has not opened up high-skill jobs for Nepalis, she added.

Nepali housemaids are not permitted in Malaysia, but about 63 Nepali women had reached the destination in 2010. “It is because of corruption in immigration.

They issued permits to Nepalis,” she said, adding that the nexus of outsourcing agencies or their agents is active in Malaysia and often manipulate authorities.

Published on: 6 December 2012 | The Himalayan Times