Malaysia yesterday again extended the deadline to Aug 31 for biometric registration of irregular expatriate workers to regularise them under an amnesty programme.
Initially the registration schedule was fixed for August 1 to 14, which was extended to August 21.
The authorities are also registering regular foreign workers since July 13 to determine the total foreign workforce in the country.
The extension was made as the home ministry observed that a large number of undocumented workers were still crowding the registration counters, Malaysian newspaper The Star Online reported yesterday, quoting home ministry Secretary General Tan Sri Mahmood Adam.
The ministry also considered the fact that many registration agencies were entering remote areas to list the reluctant workers, he added.
Besides, a lot of employers requested for another extension to the time limit.
The regularised workers will either be allowed to return home without facing any penalty or issued work permits to continue in their jobs.
Of around 5 lakh Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia, an estimated 3 lakh are irregular. A total of 2,33,938 undocumented and 1,19,960 regular Bangladeshis have been registered until Wednesday.
"If the deadline was not extended, a majority of the workers would have been left out and ultimately would have jeopardised the aim of the exercise," Mahmood Adam said in a statement.
He urged all the employers and illegal workers to seize the opportunity, insisting the time line would not be extended again.
The Southeast Asian nation will start a crackdown on illegal foreign workers on the expiry of the August 31 registration deadline.
Source : The Daily Star
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