I refer to the Malaysiakini report New ban on Bangladeshi workers .

According to the Home Affairs Ministry, 29,442 foreign workers had arrived in Malaysia between Sept 1 and Sept 16 while the Immigration Department said that over the past one month, almost 2,000 foreign workers arrived daily. Newspapers gave extensive coverage on the almost 2,000 Bangladeshis arriving with legal documentation who camped at the KL International Airport car park because their agents and employees have failed to collect them.

Non-governmental organisation Tenaganita is said to be sheltering almost 3,000 Bangladeshi workers in a similar predicament. Even the Catholic Church in Rawang is providing refuge for abandoned Bangladeshi workers.

The sheer number of foreign workers, particularly Bangladeshi workers, arriving daily defies logic and there is every reason to believe that something is amiss. Could this be the work of unscrupulous outsourcing agents who have found an easy way to make fast buck? Can he outsourcing agents who brought these workers in not be traced and be taken to task?

Should Wisma Putra not summon the labour attache of the Bangladeshi High Commission and demand an explanation? Rightfully, Wisma Putra should investigate whether the privilege given to the Bangladeshi High Commission to approve worker applications is being abused. How could they approve worker applications in such magnitude unless they are in cahoots with some people with a secret agenda to transfer and populate Malaysia with Bangladeshis.

The Home Affairs Ministry and the Human Resources Ministry ought to investigate how foreign workers are being issued Malaysian work documents. Judging from the high incidence of workers being abandoned upon arrival, it can only mean that there is a mismatch between the number of workers needed and the number of jobs available.

The government should revert to the old policy of allowing employers to recruit foreign workers directly in tandem with their requirements instead of recruiting through agents.

Already Malaysia plays host to almost two million legitimate migrant workers not counting the thousands of undocumented migrants particularly Indonesians. Lest the government forget, Malaysians have enough problems with these undocumented migrants, particularly the Indonesians.

We do not need Bangladeshis to compound the problem. Is the government only going to act after the problem has boiled over?