The High Court wants to know within seven days what actions have been taken against those responsible for preventing several thousand workers from traveling to Malaysia despite having valid visas and other necessary documents.
This directive was issued by a High Court bench comprising Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice S.M. Masud Hasan during the hearing of a related writ petition. The order has been given to the Secretary of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, the Inspector General of Police, and the general secretary of BAIRA. The petitioners’ lawyers, Md. Tanvir Ahmed and Biplab Poddar, were present during the hearing.
On June 2, a national daily published a report titled “Dreams of 30,000 Youths Shattered, Tk 20,000 Crore Looted.” The report highlighted the plight of individuals like Adnan Rahman (28) from Mymensingh, who sold his mother's jewellery and 20 decimal land, raising Tk 6.8 lakh, including some borrowed money, to pay an agency. Adnan hoped to transform his family’s fortunes by working in Malaysia, but due to the agency’s fraud, he could not fly out – his dreams crushed and left in despair, along with over 30,000 other youths who were similarly defrauded. The report stated that a few individuals associated with agencies had embezzled at least Tk 20,000 crore.
Lawyer Tanvir Ahmed mentioned that after seeing the news in the media, a writ petition was filed on June 2. The court issued its order following the hearing today.
May 31 was the last day for sending foreign workers to Malaysia. Due to various reasons, including a shortage of airline tickets, nearly 17,000 workers from Bangladesh could not depart on the final day despite having completed all necessary paperwork and immigration clearance from BMET. Hundreds of these workers were even sent to Dhaka airport, causing a commotion. In response, the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment formed an investigation committee the following day. After an extension, the committee submitted its report on June 24. However, the ministry has yet to release any formal information regarding the investigation's findings.
