Trapped and traded: The story of exploited Bangladeshi workers

PHOTO ESSAY | Workers from Bangladesh are a valuable resource in the Malaysian economy, providing much-needed labour in the manufacturing, plantations, and increasingly, in the service sector.

As at June 2019, about half a million of foreign blue-collar workers in Malaysia are from Bangladesh.

They spend about RM17,000 in recruitment fees and other travel costs to work in the country. 

Some manage to secure stable positions and are able to recoup expenses, while others get caught in a cycle of abuse and exploitation.

A joint investigation by Bangladeshi newspaper Kaler Kantho and Malaysiakini found workers passed around between employers without their consent, have salaries deducted in breach of contract, and when they flee, become undocumented and prey to criminal syndicates.

Below are photographs captured by Bangladeshi newspaper Kaler Kantho journalist Haider Ali, while reporting on the issue.

Makeshift shack

More than a dozen workers live in a makeshift shack in the middle of a palm oil plantation near a highway connecting Selangor with a neighbouring state. 

Once holding work permits, they become undocumented after fleeing exploitative employers and getting cheated by agents, who charge them thousands of ringgit to get 'legalised'. They live here to avoid immigration detention.

'Inhuman facilities'

Workers, along with all their belongings, waited for five hours to be picked up by their new employer. The vehicle never arrived. 

These workers said they lived in “inhuman facilities” for two months without any work after their arrival. After a protest, they were promised to be taken to a different company for work.

Forest hideout

Shamim Ali rests in his shack built in a forested area in Pahang. He paid half a year’s income to an agent to renew his work permit, but was cheated. 

Shamim lives here to avoid deportation. He wants to stay in the country to work so he can service high-interest debts he took on to pay for his passage to Malaysia. 

Just arrived

These workers found in Kuala Lumpur had only just arrived in Malaysia two days before. 

They were locked in a facility at the top floor of a building, allegedly operated by a notorious agent called Babul. It is believed that Babul is Bangladeshi.

Son stuck in Malaysia

In Bajiptur, a village some 350km from Dhaka, Shahida Begum holds a picture of her son, Bashir Mia. 

An agent hailing from the same district, Kamal Das, took all her son’s savings and promised to get him a work permit. Bashir is now stuck in Malaysia as an undocumented worker.

Warehouse dormitory

Workers brought in by Terengganu-registered Pembinaan NKZ Sdn Bhd (PNKZ) eat in a dormitory, which the workers say is actually a warehouse. 

They had been given by PNKZ to another firm, Gold Mine Trading Sdn Bhd. This practice is illegal. 

Cheated by agent

Aminul Islam stands in front of his home in Bajitpur. His son Deen, a worker in Malaysia, was cheated by an agent and now can no longer send money home. 

Aminul has had to send his grandsons to an orphanage because there was not enough money to feed them.

No medication

When Kaler Kantho visited the family home of migrant worker Deen Islam in Bajitpur, his wife was shivering in bed with a strong fever. 

Unable to afford medication, her family pours water on her head in the hope of bringing down her temperature.

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TRAPPED AND TRADED

Part 1: Exposed - 'trade' in Bangladeshi workers, slave-like work conditions

Part 2: At RM4,000 a head, Bangladeshi workers juicy prey for brokers

Part 3: Every day two Bangladeshi workers die every day

Part 4: Migrant workers forced to live in jungle shacks after fleeing exploitation

Photo essay: Trapped and traded: The story of exploited Bangladeshi workers