Govt indifferent towards Nepali workers in Malaysia

By Vijaya Babu Khatri

KATHMANDU, May 11 - Though hundreds of Nepalis are working in Malaysia for some three months after the Malaysian government announced that it would allow Nepalis to work there, but no official agreement has been reached between Malaysian and Nepali sides.

Lack of agreement has created confusion regarding the guarantee of the rights and job security of Nepali workers. The Malaysian Government on February announced to replace Bangladeshi workers with Nepali workers, preferring the hardworking, sincerity and peaceful nature.

According to Dev Ratna Tamrakar, Under Secretary at the Ministry of Labor, more than 680 youths have obtained government approval, of which more than 60 per cent have already gone to Malaysia and the rest are in the process of leaving for Malaysia.

Besides, thousands of others are preparing for going to Malaysia on government approval. Nepali youths are attracted to Malaysia as it offers better pay than the Gulf countries and the climate is also better off there.

Concerned people say that if the government does not sign agreement with the Malaysian government in time, the fate of the Nepali workers will be like those working in the Gulf countries.

A field report prepared by former labor secretary Damaru Ballav Bhattarai, following his visit to the Gulf countries, states that 10 to 14 Nepali workers die every month and others do not get pay and benefits as agreed.

The report had suggested the government to send people only after determining their pay and benefit, but the government has done nothing in this regard.

However, Tamrakar said that though no written agreement has been signed yet, the government has been holding talks with the Malaysian Government to this effect. "For the security of the Nepali workers in Malaysia, the government is making timely efforts", he said.

Bharat Singh Thapa, Vice-President of Nepal Foreign Employment Entrepreneurs Association, says that due to the facilities offered by the Malaysian government around 50,000 Nepalis can get employment there. Therefore, the government should sign bilateral agreement as soon as possible.

The Association has been asking the government to make effort to fix minimum salary, residence facility, insurance and treatment, over time work and hand-over of insurance amount to his family member in case of his death and others.

Tamrakar also said that the government has made it mandatory for manpower agencies to take permission from the Royal Nepalese Consular in Malaysia prior to sending workers there, for the welfare of the workers.

He also said that efforts have been made by both the governments to open consular offices in Kuala Lumpur and Kathmandu to ease the visa process. Currently, Nepalis need to go to Delhi for the purpose.

Thapa said that Nepali workers are being discriminated despite strong laws. Nepali workers are not getting salary equal to other foreigners working there due to the lack of a bilateral agreement.

Smuggling rampant in sports goods import

Post Report

KATHMANDU, May 11 - If the huge difference between the government figures and private sector’s claims regarding the import of sports goods into the country is an indication to anything, it is rampant smuggling.

The import figures provided by the Department of Customs stands at Rs 23 million for the last fiscal year. At the other end, most sports goods dealers’ claim for the total market of sports-related goods and equipment is as high as Rs 500 million.

As if the above difference is not enough, says Chandra Man Shakya, proprietor of Sports Center at Indrachowk, "The total market of sports goods in Nepal is little, which is less than Rs 1 billion annually."

It is not just that the figures claimed by businessmen and statistics of the Customs Department clash. Authorities and businessmen also differ over where the largest supplies of sports goods come from. While officials point at the third countries, businessmen say, " Sixty per cent of the total sports goods come from India."

Since imports from third countries need to be conducted through the banking channel by opening a letter of credit (LC), it would be difficult to smuggle them in. However, such difference in the opinions of the private sector and a government body only leads to one inference - smuggling from across the border, mostly India.

If there are authorities claiming that smuggling does not take place, Shakya says, "Smuggling does take place to quite an extent. Difference of sports goods price in the Kathmandu Valley and other border towns justifies this."

One of the important factors encouraging smuggling is the customs duty of 20 per cent. Sports goods are also imported as other goods to evade customs duty, while sports items like powders are brought in as medicines, says Shakya.

The taste of sports among the people has also changed considerably during last one decade. In the past, football used to be the most popular game due to excess availability of ground but as the growing scarcity of land, consumers have heavily attracted towards playing volleyball and it is currently the most popular game, which alone captures around 50 per cent market, he said.

The attraction towards cricket has recently increased tremendously after the last Cricket World Cup Games and has emerged as the second most favored game. With the current pace of attraction towards cricket, sport entrepreneurs point out that cricket might soon become the most favored game by pushing down the volleyball.

The market of goods related physical fitness is also emerging mainly due to the growing health conscious, particularly, among the urban people of age between 30 to 40. Health clubs and star hotels are the major consumers of such goods. Some of the high-class families even have started purchasing health-related goods for their personal use.

However, the most important change within a decade has been witnessed in the indoor games. "Just a decade ago, Ludo, Chess and Carom Board games used to be the most popular games, however, demand for such games has slipped remarkably," said Shakya.

The capital city alone is the biggest market of the imported sports goods, which observes more than 50 per cent and the schools are the major consumers followed by higher secondary schools. Army and police were the largest consumers of the sports goods just a decade ago, but now they have started managing their requirement themselves.

Similarly, although the Chinese goods are pouring in, the local market continues to be dominated by the Indian sports with a share of around 60 per cent. With the growing popularity of cricket, concerned entrepreneurs said that Indian goods will capture more market share in coming days.