300,000 Nepalis in Malaysia wish to return: DoFE

Remittance from Malaysia was one-third of Rs 617.27 billion received last fiscal year

KATHMANDU, Feb 3: With increasing insecurity and an ailing economy, Malaysia is losing its charm as one of the most favored destination countries for Nepali migrant workers.

Some 300,000 Nepali migrant workers in Malaysia have asked the government to help them return home in view of the ailing economy and growing insecurity in that country, according to a high government official. This is going to hit the remittance flow and Nepal's economy as a whole.

"Some 300,000 Nepali migrant workers in Malaysia have asked the government to help them return to Nepal," said Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) Director General Kedar Bogati, who was part of a team that visited Malaysia last week.

The team, led by the CIAA, visited Malaysia to study the condition of Nepali migrant workers there. Besides Bogati, the team included representatives from the Foreign Employment Promotion Board, along with CIAA representatives.

If the Nepalis all return home, the economy, which is being kept afloat by the remittance inflow from migrant workers, will suffer a body blow. Malaysia is one of the largest contributors to remittance, accounting for one-third of the total.

Last fiscal year, Nepal received Rs 617.27 billion in remittance, out of which Malaysia's contribution stood at one-third.

Nepalis in Malaysia have in recent months been feeling insecure, Bogati said, adding that the ringgit, the Malaysian currency, has also been weakening since some time. Last year the ringgit was equivalent to Rs 31. It has dropped to Rs 26 this year.

Meanwhile, the flow of Nepali migrant workers to Malaysia has also been slowing down. In the first six months of last fiscal year, some 117,686 Nepali migrant workers went to Malaysia. This number dropped to 35,335 in the same period of the current fiscal year, according to DoFE. Of the total outflow of 512,887 migrant workers last fiscal year, some 228,28 went to Malaysia.

According to Nepali migrant workers in Malaysia, they have often been cheated of their earnings. "Nepali migrant workers are not getting the basic salary as there is no government-to-government agreement on migrants between Malaysia and Nepal," they said.

A security guard in Malaysia gets 1,900 ringgit, whereas a general migrant worker gets a minimum of 900 ringgit. But Nepalis are getting less than half the minimum salary, they said. "Middlemen, who are active in collecting worker salaries, take their cut."

According to Bogati, Nepalis are also been exploited by other Nepalis, and by Tamils, who accuse the Nepalis of snatching away security guard jobs.

"Nepalis have frequently been attacked by Tamils," he said, adding that the recent Malaysian government decision to let illegal migrants stay on in Malaysia is hurting Nepali migrant workers as this will mean greater opportunities for employers to hire cheap labor.