Special flights to bring back illegal migrants in Malaysia

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Bangla Tribune Report
Published : 18:08, Dec 05, 2019 | Updated : 18:11, Dec 05, 2019

File Photo show the first Biman Bangladesh Airlines`Dreamliner Boeing 787-8, Akash BeenaBiman Bangladesh Airlines will operate as many as 16 special flights to bring back illegal migrant workers in Malaysia.
The repatriation is a part of Malaysian government’s ‘Back for good’ amnesty intuitive, said a civil aviation ministry statement on Thursday (Dec 5).
Apart from the regular flights on Dhaka-Malaysia route, Biman’s Boeing 737 and Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircrafts will operate these special flights, reads the statement.
State Minister for Civil Aviation Md Mahbub Ali said the national flag carrier will run flights as part of its responsibility to the people as well as the migrant workers.
Malaysian government has issued an amnesty for illegal migrants staying in the country as an opportunity to return home. However, due to air ticket crunch, many Bangladeshi workers are still trapped in the southeast Asian country.
The amnesty programme will expire on Dec 31 this year.
MALAYSIAN JOB MARKET FOR BANGLADESH
Malaysia first opened its door to Bangladeshi migrant workers in 1992. However, they suspended recruitment in 1997, 2009 and in 2018, following allegations of malpractice and labour exploitation.
According to data from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), over 1,056,608 Bangladeshi workers have travelled to Malaysia with immigration clearance between 1978 and April 2019.
According to an estimate from Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Program (OKUP), a community-based migrant’s rights organization, as many as half a million Bangladeshis are in Malaysia as undocumented workers.
Hundreds of undocumented workers have been detained since Malaysia launched crackdown against illegal migrants on Jul 1, 2018 with as many as 5,272 Bangladeshi workers being taken to government facilities between Jan 1 and Jun 4 this year.

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