Questions have arisen over a secret visit to Dhaka by three Malaysian nationals.
Insiders report say that they visited Bangladesh primarily to discredit the interim government as part of their fraudulent activities under the guise of manpower export, and at the invitation of a particular group.
During the visit, they met with police officials at Paltan Police Station regarding a case filed against manpower exporters and introduced themselves as representatives of the Malaysian government.
However, multiple sources from the Bangladeshi and Malaysian embassies confirmed that actually they were not officially representing the Malaysian government, but were instead involved in manpower business activities.
Allegedly, their visit was aimed at deceiving local manpower exporters and related business entities are reportedly planning to file a General Diary (GD) with the police.
According to sources, those three Malaysian individuals were identified as Datuk Seri Thayagaraj, president of the Malaysia International Security Organization for Foreign Nationals, its secretary general Dr. Sukumaran NK Nair and Datuk Mohd Noa.
Controversial businessman Noor Ali along with Joint Secretary General of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) Fakhrul Islam, and manpower exporter Ashfaq Hossain reportedly facilitated their arrival as part of a strategy to control the Malaysian labour market.
On September 3, those three individuals met with the investigating officer at Paltan Police Station regarding an ongoing case, presenting themselves as representatives of the Malaysian government and as close affiliates of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
They also impersonated them as the human rights activists, affiliated with Malaysia's Ministry of Home Affairs (KDN), and senior officials.
They used such types of identities to mislead the investigating officer into issuing a letter to Interpol (NCB Kuala Lumpur) with a request to suspend Malaysia’s Foreign Workers Centralized Management System (FWCMS), an immigration software for handling foreign workers, as part of a punitive action against two Bangladeshi businessmen.
Sources said this request was entirely unethical and deceptive. Two of the Malaysians are the leaders in Malaysia’s manpower import sector.
Dr. Sukumaran was expelled from the PASMA business organization in 2001 and 2008 over the allegations of defrauding Bangladeshi manpower exporters. For years, they have allegedly engaged in deceptive schemes targeting Bangladeshi businesses under the pretense of recruiting manpower.
Sources added that the FWCMS is a Malaysian immigration software system used to import manpower from 14 source countries, including Bangladesh.
Bangladesh itself cannot request suspension of this software, and the police request for Interpol’s intervention in the matter was unnecessary, as the officer could have sought information through the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Instead, they requested legal action against a Bangladeshi businessman, Ruhul Amin Swapan, and a Malaysian national, Amin Noor, though Amin Noor is not even an accused in the case, making the inclusion of his name a breach of international protocol.
Sources say that the letter to Interpol was issued based on misleading information provided to the investigating officer, along with a draft prepared by another controversial businessman. Paltan Police’s move to send such a letter to Interpol Kuala Lumpur is deemed unjustifiable.
When asked, Paltan Police Sub-Inspector Nazmul Islam, the investigating officer, stated that the human trafficking allegations originated in Malaysia, necessitating the request for information via Interpol.
Additionally, Deputy Commissioner of the Motijheel Division Shahriar Hossain noted, "I have heard about the letter. I was initially unaware of the details, but later learned of them. If there is any error in the letter, steps will be taken to correct it."
