ROSHAN SEDHAI

The government is preparing to request Malaysia to repatriate thousands of Nepali migrant workers who have been stranded in the Islamic kingdom. The move could benefit at least 40,000 Nepali workers staying illegally in the country, many of whom have been languishing in detention centres for months.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment said the issue of illegal Nepali migrants will top the agenda during the upcoming visit of Malaysian Human Resource Minister Richard Riot Anak Jaem, who is scheduled to arrive in Kathmandu on August 20 on a two-day official visit. The Labour Ministry estimates that some 6,000 illegal Nepalis, who have received mass amnesty from the Malaysian government, are still in Malaysian detention centres.

“We want Malaysia to repatriate these illegal workers without penalty,” said ministry spokesman Buddhi Bahadur Khadka. The government will also raise concerns about Nepali workers imprisoned in Malaysian jails on criminal offences.

Malaysia launched a crackdown on illegal migrant workers in January after a special amnesty offer came to an end followed by a three-month grace period for undocumented workers to leave the country or legalise their status. Two years ago, the Malaysian government launched an amnesty programme which allowed people to seek legal recognition or be deported.

Illegal workers have to pay fine ranging from 500 ringgits to 3,100 ringgits to get out of the country depending on the length of their illegal stay. Earlier, a deportee had to pay 400 ringgits in fine irrespective of the stay duration.

Officials said that compulsory stay in poorly-equipped detention centers for several months due to the sluggish repatriation process has discouraged many to come out despite their willingness to return home. “It takes a minimum of three months for workers to return home via detention despite their commitment to send them home in a few weeks of their arrest,” said an embassy official.

Recruitment agencies in Nepal said the Nepali government is equally responsible for the delay in repatriation as it has failed to provide financial assistance to buy air tickets and pay fine. They also accuse the embassy of failing to provide timely and discreet counseling to workers in need.

In case of penniless workers, the repatriation cost must be shouldered by the worker or employer and home country’s embassy, officials have said. Embassy officials said that many Nepali workers staying in the country illegally have fallen into the clutches of fraudsters and unscrupulous agents who charge them hefty sums--nearly 3,000 ringgits in some cases--in order to get a safe passage home.

Only 2,000 Nepali migrants working illegally in Malaysia have returned home in the last six months though the Malaysian Department of Immigration is supposed to have detained at least 8,000 Nepalis in the period.

Published on: 18 August 2014 | The Kathmandu Post