PROTESTING Bangladeshi workers would not be allowed to return to Malaysia as our borders remain closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, said Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob today.

He said Bangladesh also remains on the list of 23 countries with high Covid-19 risk. People from these countries have been barred from entering Malaysia.

“I would like to make it clear that our policy to close our country’s borders to foreign nationals remains the same. No changes to that.

“We do not allow foreign workers to enter our country, except with permission from the Immigration Department.

“Although many want to return to Malaysia, till today, they are still not allowed,” Ismail Sabri said in his daily briefing on Covid-19 movement restrictions.

Yesterday, several thousand Bangladeshi migrant workers who were stranded after returning to their home country for holidays demonstrated in front of the foreign ministry in Dhaka, demanding their quick return to Malaysia.

According to New Age Bangladesh, most of the migrant workers’ visas have expired as they could not return in time, and that had complicated matters.

They said that there were over 25,000 Malaysia-bound Bangladeshi workers stranded in the country due to pandemic and demanded their government’s interference so that they could return to their workplaces at different cities in Malaysia.

Ismail Sabri said the Immigration Department had the authority to determine an individual’s eligibility for entry into Malaysia.

The defence minister also said that the government would not bar the Bangladeshi High Commission from meeting the Ministry of Affairs to discuss the matter.

“A discussion was agreed. That’s true but our policy of having the national borders closed remains,” he reiterated. – November 4, 2020.