Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said 1.5 million workers from Bangladesh will be brought to Malaysia in stages over three years to meet the demands of employers from various sectors.

“We expect to sign the agreement in the month of Syawal (after July 17) in Dhaka. These workers will be involved in various fields, especially in the plantation sector and will meet the demands of the job market in peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.

“However, this initiative only involves fresh workers from Bangladesh. Illegal Bangladeshi immigrants working here are not involved and we will continue to deport them,” he told a press conference in Alor Gajah yesterday.

Earlier, he had performed the ground breaking ceremony for the construction of Masjid Terapung Durian Daun and gave donations to the poor at SMA Imtiaz Ulul Albab, Durian Daun.

Ahmad Zahid said the Bangledeshi workers to be brought into this country would be trained in Bangladesh to become semi-skilled workers to meet specific requirements of employers in Malaysia.

The employers would be subjected to four conditions namely, the Bangladeshi workers must be given insurance coverage; be provided centralised housing, their salary paid via banks and provided with adequate protection.

- Bernama