Like his two other friends — Padam Bahadur Khatri of Phedigud-5, Okhaldhunga district and Narayan Sunar of Marubang-7, Rukum district — Akkal, Bahadur Bamjan from Lapsiphedi-6, Kathmandu district, had only one dream, which was to return to his homeland.

“I did not want to be there (jail) any more. The dream came true today,” Bamjan told The Himalayan Times with tears in his eyes. He spent about six months in Penjara Jail located in Kota Kina Balu of Sabah province, Malaysia, but feels like he has spent his entire life there. 

“We were 500-600 in a 50 meter shed. There were more than half a dozen such sheds and we were together in the jail,” he described the jail as a congested place where people were hardly able to move. Because of the condition, my legs started swelling. It has not yet been cured, he added.

The three migrant workers were caught when they ran away from Sabah Forest Company. “We ran away as the company did not provide the minimum wage,” said Khatri. The company used to give Malaysian Ringgit 135 (Rs 9,180) per month, while the minimum wage was Malaysian Ringgit 546 (Rs 26,230). 

Therefore, we decided to run away but the guard caught us and handed us over to immigration police, he said, elaborating the similar situation faced by the other two migrants. Khatri was jailed for one year and Sunar and Bamjan spent six months before leaving the destination. 

The migrant workers had reached Malaysia through outsourcing agencies who are following the government procedure 

but blamed the Nepali diplomatic mission in Kuala Lumpur for 

their fate. Pravasi Nepali Coordination Committee (PNCC) — a non-governmental organisation working on migration — proved the allegation right. 

“PNCC requested the Nepali embassy in Malaysia, on March 20, 2013, to locate Bamjan but the diplomatic mission could not indicate there were two others in the same jail,” said coordinator of the organisation Parbata Adhikari. Therefore, we approached International Organisation for Migration (IOM). IOM located the other two and rescued them, she said. 

According to Adhikari, PNCC came to know about Bamjan’s status after a Pakistani national called Bamjan’s family. “I had given my spouse’s mobile number to the Pakistani when he was being released from the jail,” Bamjan said. “Thanks to him I am here today,” he shared. 

Currently, about 1,000 Nepalis are doing time in different jails of Malaysia. However, the government does not have the accurate record of migrant workers in Malaysian jails.

Published on: 10 May 2013 | The Himalayan Times