State Minister for Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Shofiqur Rahman Chowdhury said Malaysia has been requested to allow the entry of Bangladeshi workers who failed to go there even after obtaining visas.

"We applied and hopefully Malaysia will consider it," he told reporters after the meeting with Malaysian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Haznah Md Hashim.

The Malaysian High Commissioner said that the relationship between Bangladesh and Malaysia is friendly and historical.

The Malaysian envoy said she would inform her government about Bangladesh’s request, the junior minister said.

Earlier on June 02, the junior minister said around 17,000 people, who were planning to go to Malaysia, failed to go there within the stipulated time.

Already a six-member body, headed by the additional secretary of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry, Mahbubul Haque, has been formed to look into the reason behind the failure of workers in Malaysia and the committee was asked to submit its report within the next seven working days, he said.

Till May 31, the Bureau of Manpower Employment Training (BMET) has given the clearance certificate to 4,93,642 workers to go to Malaysia and among them 4,76,672 went to the country while 16970 remained left in Bangladesh, he said.

When asked about the workers who have not received BMET clearance, the state minister said that the ministry would consider those who have applied to go to Malaysia, contacted various recruiting agencies and who have prepared to go through agents, even those who have not received a visa.

"We are sincerely working on the issue. Arrangements will be made to compensate them," he added.

The Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Foreign Employment Additional Secretary Md Khairul Alam, Noor Md Mahbubul Haque, Joint Secretary Md Abu Raihan Min and other senior officials of the ministry were present.