Malaysia is no longer the number one destination for Nepali migrant due to a number unsettled issues

KATHMANDU

Just like millions of Nepalis, who dream to go abroad and earn money, Milan Rana went to Malaysia. “It was my first destination of choice because the weather and the culture seemed more favourable than other countries,” he shared. However, he is now back in Nepal and is considering going to work in another country. “I do not think I will go back to Malaysia,” he stated.

Rana revealed that he was not deprived from food and shelter, or did he face any problems regarding payment but had a lot of security issues. “The crime rate was really high. There is a lot of theft and robbery,” he claimed. He also added that because of the devaluation of the Ringgit, he was not earning as much for the same amount of work.

Malaysian disconnect

Citing that there has been a drastic decline in demand for Nepali migrant workers to Malaysia, Bimal Prasad Dhakal, the President of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA) said, “The government’s ‘free visa, free ticket’ provision is the main reason behind the fall.” He criticised the government for not taking into consideration the formal and informal aspects of the migration process such as coordination with the manpower companies, host countries, clear job descriptions et cetera while formulating the policy. “This provision has many loopholes, and the main one is lack of coordination with host countries,” he stated.

The country had enforced the provision of ‘free visa, free ticket’ for Nepali migrant workers seeking employment in Malaysia along with other six gulf countries last year. The recruitment agencies are allowed to charge a maximum of Rs 10,000 in case employers refuse to pay the service charge. However, migrant workers still have to pay for insurance, medical check-up, and pre-departure orientation training et cetera.

“The government has implemented the zero cost provision, but the manpower company still needs to pay the Malaysian government a standard levy charge,” shared Prem Ghale, Executive Director at Dolphin Overseas Pvt Ltd. He further said that the zero cost provision is not of any effect as workers are still compelled to pay under different headings — Biometric Identification and Immigration Security Clearance to name a few.

The vast majority of Nepalis going to Malaysia are security guards and factory workers. The country had been hiring security guards exclusively from Nepal for the past 10 years. Citing that many migrant workers lost interest in Malaysia after the erosion in value of the Malaysian currency, Ghale stressed that there is a shortage of workers to meet the demand. He further added that this caused Malaysian companies to hire workers from countries like Bangladesh.

“The government’s ‘free visa, free ticket’ provision is the main reason behind the fall”

Bimal Prasad Dhakal, President of NAFEA

“The provision needs to be revised in accordance with the needs of manpower companies, hosting countries and the nature of the job”

Rama Bhattarai Spokesperson at the Department of Foreign Employment

“We need lay down all the procedures that both countries have to adhere to in terms of recruitment. Through this agreement we can eliminate all the misconceptions”

Ahmad Phadil Ismail Charge d’ affaires at the Embassy of Malaysia

Provision needs revision

“Many companies do not agree with the ‘zero cost’ provision and smaller companies were not willing to fund air tickets and visa,” shared Rama Bhattarai, Spokesperson at the Department of Foreign Employment, adding that Malaysia was the number one destination for migrant workers until fiscal year 2014-15. Malaysia has now dropped to the third position.

In defense of the provision, Bhattarai claimed that it has created awareness among many aspiring workers of their rights. “After the provision, workers have become more alert about being cheated or overcharged,” she said. “We were able to identify which countries were friendlier towards this provision and which were not. We also came to know about manpower companies that were already following this provision,” she said. However, she emphasised, “The provision needs to be revised in accordance to the needs of manpower companies, hosting countries and the nature of the job.” She informed that the government is having discussions and a decision will be made, however, she didn’t disclose when it will be made.

“The overhead cost comes to be expensive for the workers,” she said, adding that security is a major concern for Nepali migrant workers in Malaysia. “We have had a meeting with the Malaysian government regarding this issue in our June visit. They were very positive,” she informed. Furthermore, she said that since the private sector dominates, some of the issues are not even under control of the Malaysian Government.

Furthermore, Bhattrai implied that the provision was not the sole reason for the decline. “The Malaysian government had put a ban of foreign workers for some time. This led migrant workers to look for alternative job destinations,” she added. “Malaysia might climb back up to second position very soon,” she stated.

The other factors

“We respect whatever policy the government of Nepal introduces, similarly the country also needs to respect whatever policy the Malaysian government introduces in terms of recruitment,” said Ahmad Phadil Ismail, First Secretary/ Charge d’ affaires at at the Embassy of Malaysia, in Nepal, adding that Nepal ranks number two when it comes to number of migrant workers in Malaysia.

“I agree that the number of Nepali migrant workers to Malaysia is declining. However, it’s not only because of ‘free visa, free ticket’ policy,” shared Ismail. According to him, there are three major

reasons behind the drop. The first being the massive earthquake that struck Nepal in April 2015, which led many workers to came back to Nepal to look after their families. Second, Malaysian government froze the intake of workers from other countries including Nepal as the country had to sort out its in house procedures. Thirdly, due to depreciation of the value of the Malaysian Ringgit, Nepali workers are more inclined towards gulf nations.

“However, we see that the situation could be reversed because of the southbound trend of oil prices, and slowly more people are regaining their interest to go back to Malaysia,” he said, adding that recruitment is slowly rising this year. Ismail revealed that he views the ‘zero cost’ provision as a one sided policy.

He added, “For many Malaysian employers cost is the major factor they look at when it comes to recruiting. If they find it difficult to recruit from a place, they will look for other options.”

Stressing the need to sit down together with the governing bodies and discuss this matter, Ismail said, “There has been no official agreement that has been signed yet with Nepal,” adding that they have already signed agreement with other countries and they are surprised why it has been stagnant with Nepal and it has not moved forward. “We need lay down all the procedures that both countries have to adhere to in terms of recruitment. Through this agreement we can eliminate all the misconceptions,” he shared.

In the context of workers being charged under different headings by the Malaysian government, Ismail said, “With so many workers coming into Malaysia, we have to establish a mechanism where we have to safeguard our security, that’s why we implemented these policies. He also added that it’s a standard policy not only for Nepal but every other source countries like India, Indonesia, Vietnam et cetera.