AS former deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi denies his involvement in a Nepali workers’ recruitment scam, a DAP MP is calling for a full probe into it.

Batu Kawan MP P. Kasthuriraani said the Home Ministry must “grab the bull by the horns” and launch a thorough probe into Zahid-linked Bestinet Sdn Bhd and Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd, which allegedly swindled more than RM185 million from Nepalis looking for work in Malaysia. 

“There is nothing more dishonourable than for a leader of a nation to be embroiled in a sham like this, amassing obscene amounts of money and losing the plot by playing a reverse Robin Hood, robbing the poor to feed the starving rich. 

“It is inconceivable and indefensible for the then prime minister Najib Razak not to have known the alleged dirty deeds of his second-in-charge in this shame of a sham, robbing poor Nepali workers who literally walk through the ‘shadows of death’ to get to Malaysia, alive and in one piece,” she said in a statement.

Zahid, who is also former home minister, is said to be linked to Bestinet through his brother-in-law, Amin Abdul Nor, a Bangladeshi.

The BN-led administration used Bestinet for mandatory biometric health screenings in Nepal, partnering with the Nepal Health Professional Federation (NHPF) at certain medical centres and charging the workers an additional RM165 (Rs4500).

Bestinet collected RM37 million for the screenings, which could have been done at 200 other health outfits approved by the government for a lower fee.

The Nepali Times last week named Bestinet and other companies backed by powerful Malaysian politicians as profiteers of Putrajaya’s revised foreign workers’ application process.

Others named included Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd – the first Malaysian agency to enter Nepal and a “strategic” partner to the Immigration Department. Another was Malaysia Visa Luar Negara (VLN) Nepal, a sister organisation of Harvest Moon Group and business partner to Ultra Kirana.

Ultra Kirana, set up in 2011 by the Home Ministry to process visa documentation of tourists from China, entered Nepal in November 2013 and began charging exorbitant fees to process visa applications, with rates ranging from RM26 to RM143. 

They then allegedly used Nepal-based associate Malaysia VLN Nepal to unreasonably and irresponsibly increase the rates by 550%. 

Wanita DAP publicity secretary Kasthuriraani also said that Ultra Kirana did not even have a website.

“More than RM185 million in hush money was collected from more than 600,000 Nepali workers between September 2013 and April 2018 through Malaysia VLN while Ultra Kirana and Bestinet forced poverty-stricken Nepali men and women to scavenge for the disgusting amounts set arbitrarily by companies linked to Umno leaders.

“Perhaps this mafia sort of business arrangement has led to the Nepali government discontinuing their workers from being employed in Malaysia,” the MP from Penang said.

“As it takes two to tango, Malaysian agencies could not have been working alone without a concrete network of scoundrels in Nepal, who had no qualms or ethics in bleeding the poor dry, namely Nepal Health Professional Federation, One Stop Centre (OSC) and GSG Nepal.

“The Home Ministry must grab the bull by the horns and launch a worldwide probe, starting at the Immigration Department with an inquest to leave no stone unturned,” she said.

Zahid denied the claims today, saying he was ready to be investigated.

“I’m not afraid. I’m ready to provide any proof if I were involved or if I had abused my power or if my family members were involved,” he said. – July 23, 2018.