Indian workers deported from Malaysia

Chennai, Mar 7 : At least 43 workers from Tamil Nadu who returned from Malaysia complained of ill-treatment on Friday.

The youths from Villupuram, Vellore and Tiruvannamalai districts of the state, were employed in a hotel in Malaysia since February last year.

"I paid 85,000 rupees to seek immigration for Malaysia but were not given worker's visa permit and were tortured inhumanely," said Yasin, a youth.

The youths said they were not paid any salary after working for a month in the hotel. Later they were asked to vacate the hotel.

The workers decided to lodge a complaint with the Indian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur. However, the bus they were travelling was intercepted by the police.

They were arrested and handed over to the immigration department that detained them.

"When we were behind bars, nobody came for our rescue, neither Malaysian and Indian government or our employer. It is only after one-and-a-half months, we were released. Has our country no responsibility towards us, are we not Indian citizen?" asked Satish Kumar, another youth.

They were later released after approaching the High Commission through a local social worker.

Malaysia is a magnet for cheap labour from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Indonesia and Bangladesh. The country is home to two million legal foreign workers, as well as another 500,000 to 700,000 working illegally. Many resort to bribery to speed up their visa applications or to avoid deportation.