The 100-odd Bangladeshis stranded in the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) for the past three days were close to giving up hope of ever returning home but were overjoyed when finally allowed to do so this evening.

They had spent three days at the airport waiting to be given boarding passes which were not issued on Feb 28 - the day they arrived at the airport - because airline staff were 'afraid of the consequences' of allowing illegal migrants to travel.

The group's spokesperson Mohd Nazrul Islam ( left ) contacted malaysiakini shortly after obtaining his boarding pass and clearing immigration at 4pm today. He and most of his fellow Bangladeshis are scheduled to depart at 6pm.

Mohd Nazrul attributed their success in securing the boarding passes to the help of NGOs, media and diplomatic intervention.

The Malaysian government has also announced through Home Affairs Minister Azmi Khalid today that all illegal migrants with valid plane and ferry tickets should be allowed to leave the county.

Confusion and fear

The large group had arrived at KLIA before midnight on Feb 28 and wanted to check in for their flight to Dakar the following day but were surprised to be turned away by airline staff.

A majority of them had purchased tickets on United Arab Emirates (UAE) Airlines while there were some holding Malaysian Airlines (MAS) tickets and a handful with tickets from Biman (Bangladesh) Airlines.

"When we got to the counter, we were told that we could not be issued boarding passes because our travel documents had expired and we were illegal migrants and that if the airlines issued us boarding passes, they would be fined" Mohd Nazrul told malaysiakini at KLIA this morning.

It is unclear at this point if those possessing MAS and Biman tickets have been issued boarding passes as well.

Malaysiakini learnt that almost all of them had valid temporary travel permits issued by the Bangladesh High Commission in Malaysia. But they were unaware that their three-month permits were still valid as they cannot read English.

When a MAS manager and a UAE administrator in its KLIA offices were approached this afternoon, they declined comment saying they had no authority to speak to the press on the matter.

Rude and rough

Immigration officers present said they were aware of Azmi's announcement in today's newspapers but declined to comment further.

The Bangladeshis also complained that they were harassed by immigration and airport personnel over the past three days.

"They kept coming to us ordering us to act properly and to ensure that our luggage and trolleys do not obstruct people. They were very rude and rough when speaking to us and didn't offer solutions to our situation," they complained.

Mohd Nazrul and his friend Rafique Islam had expressed their worry on their prolonged stay at the airport and had said "we have no choice but to stay here and hope we can get on the next flight. However, we are fast running out of money for food. The food sold in KLIA is very expensive".

The Bangladeshis had parked themselves at the airport's public departure hall area. Yesterday, Tenaganita visited them and distributed food and drink.