By IANS
New Delhi/Kuala Lumpur : After India expressed concern and demanded an explanation, Malaysia Wednesday assured New Delhi there was no freeze on the recruitment of Indian workers as reported in a section of the media.
Malaysia, however, admitted that it has adopted a more stringent policy on recruitment of foreign workers, including Buddhist and Hindu priests, but clarified that it has not banned Indian workers.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee sought a clarification from Malaysian Works Minister S. Samy Vellu during their discussions in New Delhi in the evening that also covered a wide gamut of bilateral and regional issues.
Mukherjee expressed concern at the reports that seem to go against the spirit of India-Malaysia ties, but Vellu categorically denied these reports, official sources said.
Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi also said at a press conference that the Malaysian government had clarified there was no ban on Indians working there and they were not being denied work visas.
Vellu also met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his residence later in the day and assured him that there was no such ban and reaffirmed Malaysia’s commitment to deepen ties with India.
He also clarified issues regarding the demonstration in Kuala Lumpur by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) and sought to explain Malaysia’s stand on this sensitive issue that dented the country’s image as a society in which ethnic diversity was accommodated and respected.
Not only that but Vellu also lauded the contribution of the Indian community to the economic development of Malaysia and presented a booklet “Malaysian Indians – Then and Now” to the prime minister, encapsulating the Indian community’s progress in Malaysia since independence.
Vellu also requested Indian help in setting up institutes of higher learning in Malaysia.
India, on its part, repeated its stand about non-interference in Malaysia’s internal affairs but expressed concern about the welfare of the Indian diaspora settled in Malaysia.
Vellu, also the president of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) – a part of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition – said Tuesday that he had contacted Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the home ministry secretary-general to get a clearer picture on the issue.
Defence Minister A.K. Antony, who returned from Kuala Lumpur only Tuesday, said that the Malaysian government was keen to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that would regulate the employment conditions and welfare of Indian workers in Malaysia and Malaysian nationals in India.
Malaysian Home Affairs Minister Radzi Sheikh Ahmad admitted to a temporary freeze on the intake of Bangladeshi workers, which was introduced in October.
“Let me state categorically that the home ministry has never come out with any ruling that we have stopped the intake of foreign workers from India,” he said.
“This has disturbed us a lot,” he said.
“We have more than two million foreign workers, so we have to take action,” he said at a news conference in Kuala Lumpur while denying the news reports that the government has suspended recruitment of Indian workers.
“We don’t want too many of them. Our target is to have about 1.8 million foreign workers but we have now overshot two million,” he said.
“Now we are more stringent,” he said, adding that firms would now be required to seek prior approval from the human resources ministry before they can apply to bring in foreign workers.
“We have to take some action to make sure there are not too many of them but at the same time we do not want to have our industries suffer because there are no workers,” Ahmad said.
He also admitted that the government’s policy was to encourage temples to hire Malaysians.
Around 140,000 Indian immigrants work in Malaysia, mostly in low-paying jobs as waiters, barbers and gardeners. They make up about eight percent of the two million registered foreign workers in Malaysia.
Earlier Wednesday, Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said that New Delhi had sought a clarification on the issue from the Malaysian authorities.
“Surely, it is a matter of concern. We have sought clarification from the Malaysian government,” Sharma told reporters in New Delhi when asked to comment on the reported ban.
“Our high commissioner is in touch with authorities in Malaysia. Given the seriousness of the situation, we are waiting for the Malaysian government to issue a clarification,” he said.
The controversy was sparked off after a religious group in Malaysia claimed Hindu priests and temple workers were being denied permission to work in the Muslim-majority nation, a report said Wednesday.
The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Taoism (MCCBCHT) says the immigration department has stopped issuing work permits to foreign priests, temple musicians and sculptors.
The reports had cast a shadow over the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, India’s annual conclave to engage with its 25 million diaspora in over 130 countries. At the event in New Delhi, Malaysia had the largest delegation of 130 members, led by Vellu, a frequent visitor to India.
News reports from Kuala Lumpur Tuesday quoted an unnamed home ministry official as saying that the cabinet had decided to suspend the recruitment of workers from India and Bangladesh about two weeks ago. According to the reports, the ban would have taken effect from Dec 31, 2007.
It wasn’t clear if the reported ban – denied in New Delhi by minister Vellu and by Malaysian home minister in Kuala Lumpur – was linked to recent street protests by Malaysians of Tamil origin alleging discrimination by the Malay-dominated government.