Malaysia denies 'graduate pass' for 10,000 Bangladeshi students, calls claims baseless
The comments come at a time when reports circulated in Bangladesh that Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus had secured assurances during his visit to Kuala Lumpur this month.
Malaysia's Higher Education Minister Zambry Abd Kadir has rejected claims that 10,000 Bangladeshi students enrolled in various universities in the country will be issued "graduate passes" allowing them to work, saying no such agreement has been reached, reports The Star Malaysia.
The minister also criticised Kedah's industry and investment, higher education, science, technology and innovation committee chairman, Dr Haim Hilman Abdullah, for repeating the claim through a two-minute and 19-second video uploaded on his TikTok social media site. In the video, Dr Haim Hilman Abdullah claimed that 10,000 Bangladeshi students would be given job opportunities in Malaysia
Higher Education Minister Zambry Abd Kadir refused the claims, saying, "As someone with an academic background, he should have made statements based on true, accurate and authentic facts, not speculation or spreading information carelessly."
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"Based solely on a newspaper report in Bangladesh, he has made the allegation that I have agreed to consider providing 'graduate passes' to 10,000 Bangladeshi students in Malaysia to enable them to work here. The allegation is completely untrue and inaccurate," the minister said in a statement.
The comments come at a time when reports circulated in Bangladesh that Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus had secured assurances during his visit to Kuala Lumpur this month. Yunus met Malaysian officials, including Higher Education Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, where Bangladeshi advisers said the issue of a new "Graduate Plus" visa had been raised.
"We had productive discussions with the minister. In principle, he has agreed to issue Graduate Pass visas to Bangladeshi students in Malaysia. However, both sides need to complete certain formalities before the policy can take effect," Law Affairs Adviser Asif Nazrul told reporters in Dhaka on 13 August.
About 10,000 Bangladeshi students are currently enrolled in Malaysian universities. While students from other countries are able to access Malaysia's job market, this option has not been available to Bangladeshis.
