Malaysia tells Nepal: stop talking about Biomedical and VLN, it is our visa system

KATHMANDU, 19 June: In May 2018, Labour Minister Gokarna Bista cracked down on the Kathmandu-based agents of Malaysian firms hired by the Malaysian government, saying that they were robbing poor Nepali migrant workers. Minister Bista alleged that the agents were collecting hefty fees in the name of visa processing, biometric and biomedical checkup.

Dozens of agents were arrested, and the process of sending Nepali workers to Malaysia came to a grinding halt.

In October 2018, Nepal and Malaysia signed a much-anticipated labour pact, sparking hope that Nepali workers would now be able to go to Malaysia. Seven months later, Malaysia remains shut for Nepali migrant workers.

यो अन्तर्वार्ता नेपालीमा यहाँ बढ्न सकिन्छ: बायोमेडिकल र भीएलएन सिन्डीकेट होइन, हाम्रो भिसा प्रणाली हो

Kathmandu Press caught up with Malaysia's Acting Ambassador to Nepal, Ahmad Phadil Ismail, to understand what is really causing the deadlock, and if Nepali workers can go to work in Malaysia anytime soon.

Kathmandu Press: It has been more than seven months since the signing of the labour pact between Nepal and Malaysia. But Nepali workers are still unable to go to work in Malaysia. Why?

Ahmad Phadil Ismail: We have not stopped Malaysian employers from hiring foreign workers. But the approval that we issue is very general...we just allow Malaysian employers to bring in foreign workers from source countries, not specifying which source country.

It is up to Malaysian employers to decide which country they want to bring foreign workers from. So I do not know when Malaysia will open for Nepali workers because it is up to the Nepali side.

What does the Nepal government need to do so Nepali workers can go to work in Malaysia again?

We are made to understand that the Malaysia sector is not open for the reasons we do not know. But it (closure of Malaysia) is due to your (Nepal government's) decision. Se we are waiting for it.

If Malaysian vendors decide to change their local partners, they can. But when new persons come in (as new vendors), they will still be implementing the same system.

Is it true that Nepal's Labour Minister wants to send Nepali workers to Malaysia only when the Malaysian firms hired by the Malaysian government change their local partners in Nepal?

When we signed the MoU, we agreed that Nepali workers will have to undergo security and medical screening before applying for visa. We have laid out all these issues in the MoU.

I sound like a broken record, but I have to repeat that there is no issue with VLN and Biomedical (whose Nepal agent was arrested by police allegedly for fleecing Nepali workers). VLN is a system that we have adopted to upgrade our visa system.

So I prefer people stop talking about VLN and Biomedical. It is our visa system. ISC (whose Nepal agent was also arrested for collecting money from workers without being authorised by the Nepal government) is our security screening system. Biomedical is our medical checkup system. The vendors that are implementing these systems are operating according to our procedures.

The Malaysian vendors that were assigned (by the Malaysian government) to develop and implement these systems have their own local partners in different source countries, including Nepal. The Malaysian Embassy has nothing to do with who the Malaysian vendors choose as their local partners in Nepal, or elsewhere.

Our duty is to ensure that these local partners (of Malaysian vendors) are following our procedures. We have no issue if Malaysian vendors want to change their local partners in Nepal. It is their business dealings. If the Nepal side is still talking about changing the vendors...what happens when new persons come in (as new vendors), they will still be implementing the same system. If Malaysian vendors decide to change their local partners, they can. But we will ensure that the same system is implemented until we receive new instructions.

And, are you likely to get new instructions anytime soon?

I cannot say likely or unlikely. I can only say: not at the moment. This is because these instructions come directly from Putrajaya, the headquarters of the Malaysian government.

What do you want to say about media reports that the vendors were overcharging poor Nepali workers?

This is just politics. People who have interest -- this is my personal view -- manipulated the news. We have explained to the Nepal government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that they (Nepali agents of Malaysian companies) are charging only what we have approved. Until now, there has been no foul play by the vendors.

Have you carried out any investigation to rule out the possibility of foul play?

We have receipts of all transactions. We look at the receipts. When they (those with interest) say they (the vendors) are charging Rs 2,800 more that is actually the approved charge. This is why I am saying they are manipulating the facts.

Who are these people?

They are those who have interest in the business (of the vendors).

Video Interview

 Those who did not get to work as local vendors in Nepal?

(laughs)...I am not sure.

There are reports that Malaysia has told Nepal that it will stop hiring Nepali workers if the current deadlock is not resolved soon?

Not true, not at the moment. Not sure who is spreading this news. What I can say is Malaysia and Nepal have signed the MoU, and both sides have to honour the document.

Honouring the MoU means the existing system will remain. Right?

It is up to interpretation. If you want to accept (the existing system) you will interpret that way. If you want to manipulate the MoU and delay the process, then you interpret it in the other way.

Did Malaysia anticipate such a long delay in the process of hiring workers from Nepal?

No. After the signing of the MoU, the (Malaysian) minister was really upbeat. He hoped that Malaysia would at least receive the 10,000 plus Nepali workers who were waiting for the second approval.

For Malaysia, those hit hardest by this delay are security companies. They can hire security guards only from Nepal. And those 10,000 plus Malaysia-bound workers were going to work as security guards. Other employers were also affected, but at least they have other options. They can go to other source countries for workers, like Bangladesh.

To answer your question, we did not anticipate such a long delay. It has been several months, still nothing has happened.

Are you hopeful that the deadlock would end soon?

Definitely.....(laughs)..but to tell you the truth, I am past the phase of hope. For me, if it happens, it happens.

 So, you have given up hope?

(Laughs)...no, I have not given up hope. But I am not thinking about this issue as much as before.

Are Nepal and Malaysia holding talks to end this impasse? 

The Joint Working Group has held its first meeting, but it is yet to hold its second meeting. However, there are other official engagements between the two countries. Nepal's ambassador to Malaysia recently paid a courtesy call on the Malaysian human resource minister, so I believe he must have raised this issue on that occassion.

At last, we would like to ask you the same question: will Nepali workers be going to Malaysian soon?

Hopefully. When Nepali workers will be going to Malaysia is not up to us, it is up to the Nepal side. As I said before, we have no pending issues. We have clarified everything in the MoU. The procedures are very straight forward, which both sides have agreed to.

The previous issue was the cost. In the MoU, both sides agreed that the employers will be bearing all the cost of workers, even in source countries. The previous arrangement was that any cost incurred in the source country was to be borne by workers and any cost incurred in Malaysia was to be borne by the Malaysian employers.

The kind of MoU we have signed with Nepal is a special one because in it Malaysia has for the first time agreed to bear the cost incurred even in the source country. Malaysia agreed to it because it was Nepal's demand. The Nepal-Malaysia MoU has become the template for us to sign a similar pact with Bangladesh.

So, the MoU was a big achievement for Nepal, but the continuous delay in sending Nepali workers to Malaysia has taken limelight away from that achievement.

What will be Malaysia's plan B if the deadlock drags on?

If Nepal decides to not send workers to Malaysia, what can we do? You (Nepal) say it (vendors like Biomedical, VLN and ISC) is a syndicate, but we (Malaysia) say it is our standard procedure. You keep harping on the syndicate, but things will not change even if we replace the old vendors with new entities. The new vendors will be following the same procedure. The new vendors will be the new syndicate.