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Malaysia employs the highest number of foreign workers in Asia. At least 400,000 Nepalis are working there making it Malaysia's second highest source of immigrant labour.
One of the major sectors that the financial crisis has hit is the electronic companies, particularly multinationals which are said to provide the best working conditions and salaries. Many companies that employed Nepalis have shut down or are downsizing, leaving the foreign workers jobless.
The Nepali embassy in the capital Kuala Lumpur says that around 40 Nepalis come to the embassy each day claiming they have lost their jobs or are not being paid. Ambassador Rishi Raj Adhikari says: "The number of those who have to return home has increased dramatically. Many have not even been here for a year." A lot of the workers do not even have enough money to pay their fare home.
At the onset of the financial crisis, 45,000 Malaysian workers lost their jobs in February 2008. The government introduced a policy to make sure Malaysians were given priority over foreign workers in various factories such as electronics or textile. When human rights activists and NGOs opposed this policy claiming that it was not justifiable, the Malaysian labour department introduced another, effective from 1 April, demanding that the levy from foreign workers be doubled. After employers protested against this policy, the government withdrew it, opting instead to demand that a single levy be collected from the companies that employ the workers. However, Adhikari says, "Even this policy will be hard to implement."
The depression is also affecting Nepali remittance companies because the migrant workers are sending less money back. Nepali businessman in Malaysia, Biswa Rai, says the downturn is having a dramatic negative impact on Nepali shops and restaurants opened targeting migrant workers.
Also affected by the crisis are publications like Janprista Bhumi, which provided news and information about Nepal for workers in Kuala Lumpur has also lost its market there.
