On September 5, The Daily Star published a story on Bangladeshi migrant workers in Malaysia, reporting that the Malaysian government had started a massive crackdown to round up undocumented workers. Currently, more than a million Bangladeshi workers live in Malaysia, nearly half of whom are "irregular".

The drive started from July 1, 2018 following the end of a two-year rehiring period. The Malaysian government fixed three agencies to deal with the regularisation applications. Nearly all irregular workers applied for permission, but a lion's share of them haven't been regularised.

Many of these irregular workers went to Malaysia in search of a better life in exchange for their savings. Therefore, they are now trying to avoid getting arrested and living miserably in makeshift camps. In such a situation, the Bangladesh government needs to intervene and engage with its Malaysian counterpart to solve the issue more amicably.

M Soman, Dhaka University