Om Astha Rai

With the extension of the legalization phase of the amnesty program announced by the Malaysian government, Nepal has been forced to wait longer for the lifting of the virtual ban on new job quotas.

The Malaysian government has not approved fresh job quotas to Nepali manpower agencies since last June 10 -- the day the Malaysian amnesty program, popularly known as the 6-p Program, kicked off.

In the last eight months after the start of the amnesty drive, Nepali manpower agencies have been sending workers to Malaysia only in plantation and construction sectors. The approval of fresh job quotas in private sectors has been entirely stalled.

The legalization phase of the amnesty program -- which began after the massive drive of documenting legal and illegal foreign workers -- was previously scheduled to conclude on February 15. However, the February 15 deadline was extended to April 10 last week.

“With this extension, the entry of fresh Nepali workers to Malaysia, except for construction and plantation sectors, will remain halted until April,” said Kumud Khanal, general secretary of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA). “We will have to wait for new quotas.”

Over 15,000 Nepali workers used to go to Malaysia every month before the amnesty drive. Today, according to Khanal, the number of Nepali workers entering Malaysia has decreased by more than 50 per cent.

"Had it not been for government and semi-government sectors like construction and plantation, the overall outflow of workers would have been nil by now," says Khanal. "The outflow of fresh workers is already nil, though."

In the legalization phase, those Nepali workers who are deemed illegal, especially because they have either overstayed work visas or have lost passports by joining new companies, will have to secure legal status by finding new employers. Those workers who fail to find new employers before April 10 will be forced to return home.

The Malaysian authorities have publicly warned of taking strict actions against those who cannot find new employers within the extended deadline and do not even return home.

In the previous phase of documenting foreign workers, about 33,000 Nepali workers were found working illegally in Malaysia. Of them, some 5,000 workers have returned by taking the advantage of the amnesty program, according to the Nepali Embassy in Malaysia.

The remaining Nepali workers are searching for new employers to secure legal status.

Published on: 23 February 2012 | Republica