COMMENT Malaysia’s order for 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers is a highly controversial issue on more than one count.

Does Malaysia really need a fresh injection of manpower when there is so much available or idle in the country? But the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) proposal to fill the 1.5 million job vacancies with the 100,000 or so refugees awaiting resettlement was shot down with the excuse that such a move would attract more refugees to Malaysia.