Why 17,000 Malaysia-bound workers shouldn’t get refund with interest: HC asks

The High Court has ordered authorities to explain why they should not be directed to refund, with interest, the money of 17,000 workers who could not fly to Malaysia within the specified timeframe. 

At the same time, the court asked the government  to respond why the authorities’ inaction and arbitrary decisions, given the potential danger to the victim’s life in the worker sending process, should not be declared illegal.

The High Court bench of Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice SM Masud Hossain Dolan issued the rule after hearing a writ petition in this regard on Tuesday (16 july).

The court has ordered the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Foreign Employment, along with other stakeholders, to respond to the rule within four weeks. 

Additionally, the court has ordered the authorities concerned to submit a report on the matter every three months.

Following a previous order for the Attorney General’s office to report on actions taken regarding workers unable to depart for Malaysia, a report was submitted on 15 July. 

According to the report, the authorities concerned have been directed to refund all money collected from the affected workers by 18 July and initiate legal proceedings against responsible recruiting agencies for their failures.  

The report also addresses complaints about excessive fees charged by recruiting agencies and proposes establishing fixed timelines for worker departures, including visa issuance dates.

The Malaysian authorities had allowed these 100 private recruiting agencies to send workers from Bangladesh. However, due to mismanagement and corruption in the recruitment process, the agencies failed to send approximately 17,777 workers before the 31 May deadline set by Malaysia.