Bangladeshi migrants in Malaysia call for the closure of ESKL

The Malaysia chapter of the 'Bangladesh Prabashi Odhikar Parishad' protested on Thursday against an alleged data breach and corruption involving ESKL, a passport, visa, and immigration services company reportedly owned by members of the Sheikh family.  

The protest was announced during a press conference at Al Razi Complex in Purana Paltan, Dhaka, where the organisation’s central committee joint secretary, Al Mamun, read out a statement citing reports from national newspapers.  

According to these reports, ESKL is owned by Sheikh family members, including Nur Alam, Nixon Chowdhury, and Sheikh Rehana.  

Al Mamun stated that Bangladeshi migrants had raised concerns over ESKL, leading the interim government to cancel its contract in December. However, in the following month, Bangladeshi-American businessman Tabith Awal reportedly acquired a 30% stake in the company, after which the shutdown order was revoked.  

He further alleged that Bangladesh’s Deputy High Commissioner in Malaysia, Khorshed Alam Khastgir, along with foreign secretaries Jasim Uddin and Gias Uddin, were involved in these irregularities.  

The organisation warned that if their demands were not met, they might consider suspending remittance transfers from Malaysia to Bangladesh.