The Nepali embassy in Malaysia has informed Malaysian authorities about Nepal’s call for scrapping all additional fees levied on Nepali workers.

The government on May 17 decided to scrap all the fees that Nepali migrants were charged under various headings before departure under a unilateral policy of the Malaysian government.

After the decision, the government launched a crackdown on various institutions collecting extra fees from migrant workers against Nepal’s policy. The situation has temporarily affected departures for Malaysia.

The Labour, Employment and Social Security Ministry had also written to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to draw Malaysia’s attention to the need to spare Nepali workers heavy financial burden.

Acting Ambassador to Malaysia Kumar Kharel said the mission has notified the Malaysian government about Nepal’s decision.

“We have clearly communicated our concerns and interests with the Malaysian government formally in writing as well as during a meeting. We have told them how our workers are burdened financially as they have to pay hefty sums under various topics,” said Kharel.

Malaysia-bound workers were paying a total of Rs18,480 even before receiving working visa. The government has expressed its reservations for long over the extra charges imposed without consultation with it. Nepal hopes the new government in Malaysia, led by Mahathir Mohamad, will consider the trouble of Nepali workers. The new government promised reforms in the labour sector during the campaign of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party.

However, those measures, which will take time to come into force, are aimed at benefiting workers with increased pay and other perks. “The fees levied on Nepali workers under various headings are comparable to 14 other labour contributing countries to Malaysia. It’s totally up to the Malaysian government to introduce measures especially for Nepal,” said Kharel.

The Malaysian embassy in Nepal has defended the institutions implementing the systems—including recruitment procedures and visa processing—introduced by Malaysia.