Government to send 10,000 workers to Malaysia free of cost: Minister

Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury said that an initiative has been taken to send 10,000 workers to Malaysia free of cost. He said that importance is also being given to skill and language training before employment abroad.

The minister said these things while speaking as the chief guest at a meeting on safe migration and prevention of illegal foreign travel at the conference room of the Sunamganj Deputy Commissioner on Tuesday (August 25) afternoon. The district administration organized the meeting.

Ariful Haque Choudhury said that people in this region, including Sunamganj, have a high tendency to go abroad. However, it is not enough to just send workers, they must be properly trained and have language skills before going abroad. To this end, he also announced plans to set up five training centers in five constituencies of the district.
Emphasizing that those going abroad should acquire skills in English, Arabic, Japanese, Chinese and Korean, the minister said that after training, the workers must go abroad through a legal process. There is a need for public representatives and the government to work together to ensure teachers and students in the training centers.

The minister also emphasized on taking action against brokers to prevent illegal migration. He directed the DIG of Sylhet Range and the Superintendent of Police of Sunamganj to send detailed information about the accused in the case filed by the families of the migrants killed in the Mediterranean Sea and the gang involved in it to the ministry within seven days.

At the same time, instructions have been given to conduct a massive campaign at the district, upazila and union levels about the risks of illegal migration. The minister called for regular awareness programs to be conducted in various religious and social institutions including mosques and temples.

He said that information about who is involved in the incident of going abroad by sea, where people are going from and how they are going, this information should be collected and sent to the ministry. Information about the concerned persons residing abroad will also be collected and necessary action taken.