Malaysia sets new visa rules for Bangladeshi tourists

Malaysia will impose new visa rules for Bangladeshi and Indian tourists as part of its drive to curb the influx of illegal immigrants, a minister said on Friday.

Home (Interior) Minister Syed Hamid Albar said tourists from Bangladesh and India must obtain a two-week social visit pass from their home countries and have a return ticket if they have plans to visit the Southeast Asian nation.

“The social visit pass replaces the visas-on-arrival (VOA) which was discontinued in April,” the New Straits Times newspaper quoted him as telling reporters.

Malaysia introduced the visa-on-arrival facility in 2006 to many countries including India and Bangladesh to boost tourist arrivals, the Department of Immigration website showed.

But last year, immigration officials called for the programme to be scrapped as many Indians and Bangladeshis were overstaying to find work in plantations and restaurants, media reports say.

A magnet for unskilled and semi-skilled Asian labour, Malaysia is home to around 3 million foreign workers, 1 million of whom are working illegally.

Most of the foreign workers are from Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal. Malaysia has 26 million people but many locals shun jobs they consider dirty, dangerous and difficult.

Malaysia has resorted to caning to help deter the influx of illegal workers, which human rights groups say is cruel and punitive.

The government denies that the use of the cane is widespread against illegal immigrants and insists it is reserved mainly for the traffickers of illegal immigrants in addition to drug-traffickers and violent criminals.

Source: Reuters