Bangladeshi workers staying in Malaysia without proper documents are in danger of being arrested and deported by the Malaysian authorities.
The Malay government raided and arrested a good number of foreign workers on Friday, workers and insiders have said.
They said among the detained workers, Bangladeshis are significant in number.
The immigration department raided on Friday and arrested 700 foreign workers from a neighbourhood in Kuala Lumpur, which is under an enhanced movement control order because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to human rights groups and photos shared on social media.
The rights activists slammed such a sudden drive conducted by the Malaysian authorities.
They said it is inhuman as the workers are already in a vulnerable situation because of the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.
The workers will need food and other emergency support because of the raids, they said, urging the Malaysian government to stop such an action and extend support to all workers from both documented and undocumented categories.
A Bangladeshi worker told the FE that the immigration police arrested many workers from the area where he lives in. Of them, a significant number is Bangladeshi nationals.
Six to Seven Bangladeshis who were close to him have been arrested by the police, he said.
Because of drive, workers are now in fear of deportation and deprived of emergency support needed to protect themselves from deadly coronavirus, he added.
Mohammad Harun Al Rashid, chief coordinator of non-profit Bhalobashi Bangladesh, and a rights activist based in Malaysia said panic has gripped among the migrants, including Bangladeshis, over raid and the subsequent arrests.
He said it is an inhuman act by the Malaysian authorities as workers are struggling hard to cope up with the adverse condition, caused by the pandemic.
The Bangladesh government should launch diplomatic initiative to protect the interest of workers, he added.
Also, Tenaganita, an advocacy group for migrants, refugees, women and children, said in a statement on Friday that Putrajaya has gone back on its promise that no operation will be conducted against undocumented migrant workers during the movement control order period.
Nearly 700,000 Bangladeshis are staying in Malaysia, of which about 50,000 were sent back from the Southeast Asian country under the "Back 4 Good" programme launched last year.
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