Court Correspondent :
The High Court on Sunday wanted to know from authorities concerned about the steps they have taken to address the mismanagement that prevented Bangladeshi jobseekers from reaching Malaysia before May 31 deadline of this year.
The court asked Deputy Attorney General Tushar Kanti Roy and Assistant Attorney General Selim Azad to enquire about the steps taken by the authorities concerned and place the information before it in a week.
The High Court bench comprising Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice SM Masud Hossain Dolon passed the order after hearing on a writ petition about the issue.
Supreme Court lawyers Md Tanvir Ahmed and Biplab Kumar Poddar filed the petition as a public interest litigation based on a report published on a national daily on June 2 , seeking necessary directives.
On June 2, a national daily published a report titled “Dreams of 30,000 Youths Shattered, Tk 20,000 Crore Looted.” The report highlighted the plight of individuals like Adnan Rahman (28) from Mymensingh, who sold his mother’s jewellery and 20 decimal land, raising Tk 6.8 lakh, including some borrowed money, to pay an agency.
Adnan hoped to transform his family’s fortunes by working in Malaysia, but due to the agency’s fraud, he could not fly out – his dreams crushed and left in despair, along with over 30,000 other youths who were similarly defrauded. The report stated that a few individuals associated with agencies had embezzled at least Tk 20,000 crore.
Lawyer Tanvir Ahmed mentioned that after seeing the news in the media, a writ petition was filed on June 2. The court issued its order following the hearing on Sunday.
May 31 was the last day for sending foreign workers to Malaysia. Due to various reasons, including a shortage of airline tickets, nearly 17,000 workers from Bangladesh could not depart on the final day despite having completed all necessary paperwork and immigration clearance from BMET.
Hundreds of these workers were even sent to Dhaka airport, causing a commotion. In response, the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment formed an investigation committee the following day.
After an extension, the committee submitted its report on June 24. However, the ministry has yet to release any formal information regarding the investigation’s findings.