The Bangladeshi government late on Monday decided to give a subsidy of 10,000 taka ($118) per ticket on Biman Bangladesh Airlines’ Kuala Lumpur-Dhaka flight to bring back migrant workers registered under the B4G programme. THE DAILY STAR
About 28,000 Bangladeshi migrant workers in Malaysia are still facing uncertainty over returning home within the December 31 amnesty deadline due to the high price of air tickets and a shortage of flights, said sources at the expatriates’ welfare ministry.
The Malaysian government offered the amnesty under its “back for good” (B4G) programme to repatriate illegal foreigners from August 1, the Malaysian Immigration Department said.
Amid this, the Bangladeshi government late on Monday decided to give a subsidy of 10,000 taka ($118) per ticket on Biman Bangladesh Airlines’ Kuala Lumpur-Dhaka flight to bring back migrant workers registered under the B4G programme, said a top official of the Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry.
With the subsidy, now a migrant worker will have to pay 23,000 taka per ticket to reach Dhaka from Kuala Lumpur.
Taking advantage of the high demand for tickets from migrant workers who want to return home, different airlines operating on the Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur route suddenly increased their airfares four to five times than the usual price in recent months.
The regular fare for a one-way ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Dhaka is around 10,000-15,000 taka, which shot up to around 50,000-60,000 taka, said sources at different airlines.
Additional Secretary of Expatriates’ Welfare Ministry Dr Ahmed Munirus Saleheen said they were looking for how they can assist the migrant workers to ease the process of their return.
Saleheen told The Daily Star on Monday that the ministry has already discussed the issue of high airfare with the ministry concerned and requested them to reduce the price of tickets.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a top official of the expatriates’ welfare ministry said some 33,000 undocumented Bangladeshi migrant workers have returned under the B4G programme from Malaysia as of Monday.
Around 28,000 more were expected to take the benefit of the amnesty, he said.
In a bid to tackle the crisis, Biman Bangladesh Airlines will operate 16 additional flights only for migrant workers on the Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur-Dhaka route from December 12-31. The national airliner recently decided as per instructions from the civil aviation ministry.
The additional flights would carry about 3,400 passengers from Kuala Lumpur.
Earlier on December 2, the expatriates’ welfare ministry requested the civil aviation ministry to operate additional flights on the route to bring home Bangladeshi workers from Malaysia.
A total of six airlines operate 58 flights a week on the Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur route. Of them, Biman and Malaysian Airlines operate 14 flights each, Malindo 13, US-Bangla and Air Asia seven each and Regent Airways three.
Altogether, the flights can carry around 9,000 passengers.
Private carrier US-Bangla Airlines will operate three additional flights on December 16, 18 and 20 on the route to meet the growing demand of passengers, said its general manager of public relations Kamrul Islam.
Kamrul said they had already sold all their tickets for the Dhaka-bound flights for this month, including those of the additional flights.
Airlines sources said tickets for Dhaka-bound flights of all six airlines up to December 18 have already been sold out.
Civil aviation ministry Joint Secretary Zanendra Nath Sarker on Monday told The Daily Star that if the expatriates’ ministry requests, they will ask Biman authorities to operate more flights on the route.
However, Biman Bangladesh Airlines managing director and CEO Mokabbir Hossain said they can’t operate more flights on this route at the moment, as it will hamper operations on other routes.
Some 1.056 million Bangladeshi migrant workers have been sent to Malaysia since 1978, data from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training shows.
The B4G initiative was taken by the Malaysian government to allow illegal immigrants, who overstayed or those who stayed without a valid pass or permit, to return home voluntarily with minimum penalty, the Malaysian Immigration Department said.
A migrant worker can take part in the programme upon registration and paying 700 ringgit ($168).
Upon refusal to take part in the programme, a migrant worker will have to face action such as imprisonment and fines.
Those who take part in the programme and return home will be eligible for jobs in Malaysia after one year, said Additional Secretary Saleheen of the expatriates’ welfare ministry.
The south-eastern country suspended labour recruitment from Bangladesh on September 1 last year, alleging monopoly by a syndicate of 10 recruiting agents and high cost of migration.
THE DAILY STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
