The government's decision to stop bringing in Bangladeshi workers is due to the fact that they are becoming more aware of their labour rights, said a non-governmental organisation which supports women and migrant workers.

According to Tenaganita migrant desk programme coordinator Aegile Fernandez, this new policy would enable "ignorant and cheaper labour" from Burma and Nepal to be brought in to replace the increasingly empowered Bangladeshis.

"Malaysia has recently signed memorandums of understanding with Burma and Nepal, which allow for the import of labour from both countries," she told malaysiakini .

Last Saturday, The Star reported Home Ministry secretary-general Aseh Che Mat as saying that the government had issued a directive a month ago to employers to stop recruiting Bangladeshi workers.

Aseh said the Bangladeshis brought in social problems which include marriages of convenience with locals and "some go on to have children", causing many to extend their stay illegally.

Fernandez said that such reasons given for the ban reveal the underlying racial sentiments against Bangladeshis in this country.

"Besides racial discrimination, the other reason why they have asked the bosses to stop hiring Bangladeshi workers is that the agents can once again make money when they set up agencies in Nepal and Burma to recruit workers," she said.

She added that such agencies have already been set up in those countries. According to her, Bangladeshis who are already in Malaysia can arrange for their friends and relatives to come to the country, thus need not pay such services to the labour recruitment agents.

Higher pay

Fernandez also questioned why employers are still demanding for Bangladeshi workers if what the government claimed was true.

"Is the government saying that the Filipino and Indonesian migrant workers do not cause social problems? If the Bangladeshis do cause so many social problems, then why is it that employers are still demanding for them specifically? It does not make sense," she said.

Fernandez explained that as Bangladeshi workers have been coming to Malaysia for more than a decade now, they have become more aware of their labour rights.

"Many come from the same villages but they do know their rights. When they first came, they were paid very little, but now they have learnt to ask for higher pay," said Fernandez.

The Nepalese and Burmese workers, if they were to be brought in to replace these Bangladeshi workers, would not know their rights under local labour laws.

"The employers can then pay these new migrant workers the low pay that they used to pay Bangladeshi workers when the latter group first came to Malaysia," said Fernandez.

"The Bangladesh government has also been coming out strongly against the abuse of Bangladeshi migrant workers. Thus, this directive to bosses to stop hiring Bangladeshis might be a backlash against that," said Fernandez.

Abuse cases

Fernandez said the irony is that although employers' demands for Bangladeshi workers are high, the number of abuse cases at workplaces involving Bangladeshis is also very high.

This is because Bangladeshi workers here are usually very docile, she said.

"This reason that they are causing social problems by marrying local women and having children is just a small problem made big to cover the other agenda - that is to get ignorant cheap labour and for recruiting agents to make money," said Fernandez.

In 1997, the government had also said that there were too many Bangladeshis marrying local women and that those who did so would be deported. This rule was, however, relaxed and applied on a case-to-case basis later after much attention was given to the issue in the print media.