‘1,850 Nepali workers dead in Malaysia since 2003’
Roshan Sedhai
As many as 1,850 Nepali workers have died in Malaysia since 2003, a recent report submitted by the Nepali Embassy in Malaysia to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) shows. However, the report published the causes of the deaths only for cases after 2005. There have been 1,596 deaths of the migrant workers since 2005, most of which were attributed to medical conditions and a lack of effective training and pre-departure orientation.
According to the report, around 25 percent of the deaths have been attributed to chronic conditions like tuberculosis, gastritis, pneumonia, renal failure and myocardial ischaemia. A total of 394 workers died due to such chronic conditions, 144 died in road accidents, 169 committed suicide, 227 died in industrial accidents and 662 died of other causes, including murder, natural causes and stress.
The high percentage of deaths from medical conditions has raised questions about the health certification issued to Nepali migrant workers by authorised health centres, while industrial accidents reflect a lack of proper training.
Lal Babu Kawari, the Director of the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE), said there is a big problem of workers submitting fake health certificates. In a random sample from the certificates that it had received, the DoFE found 262 of the documents to be fake.
“There is no denying that we have failed to catch fraudulent health certificates in the past. Now, we will minutely examine them,” said Kawari.
Officials at the Foreign Employment Promotion Board and the DoFE also admitted that unmonitored training and a lack of pre-departure orientation were among the main causes of the deaths. Most of the workers submit fake certificates to the DoFE to avoid bureaucratic hassles. A lack of information about the destination countries, its customs, traditions, environment and work conditions often creates problems for the workers.
“A majority of our workers are from villages. Most of them do not acquire information about their destination countries before leaving. Once they arrive, they are unable to deal with the traffic, the environment and the work,” said a DoFE official.
Once dissatisfied with the working conditions or wages, many workers run away and live illegally. When working carelessly and without a work permit, they expose themselves to greater risk, the official said.
Kawari said his office has assigned a team to inspect training, orientation and health certificates. He told the Post that his office has begun punishing organisations issuing fake certificates.
A rough estimate shows around 500,000 Nepalis are currently working in Malaysia.
Published on: 12 July 2012 | The Kathmandu Post
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