Kathmandu (AsiaNews) - More than 65 thousand Nepalese migrant workers risk arrest and deportation from Malaysia. As of next September 1, Kuala Lumpur will begin a three month campaign to stop and deport half a million illegal immigrants working in the Islamic Kingdom. Nepal fears for its citizens and has asked for a period of time to allow migrants to be regularized.
In 2011, the Malaysian government had granted a mass amnesty to all illegal foreign workers, to enable them to regularize their documents or to return to their home countries without legal consequences. However, the Nepalese ambassador in Malaysia, Rishi Raj Adhikari, explains "many [immigrants] were persuaded by their employers that they would not run into any kind of legal action, even if they ignored the amnesty. For this reason, we are trying to persuade the Malaysian government to give them another chance. "
Malaysia is one of the top destinations for Nepali migrant workers: according to the Kathmandu embassy there are about 700 thousand Nepalese citizens working in Malaysia. According to the Department for foreign workers, in the fiscal year 2012-2013 Kuala Lumpur has welcomed 156,770 Nepalese migrants, compared to 98,367 the previous year.
