At least 152 Bangladeshi migrant workers in Malaysia today wrote an open letter, protesting forced repatriation and urging the Bangladesh mission in Kuala Lumpur, international organisations and civil society groups to intervene in their case of termination by their employer Mediceram.

About 180 Bangladeshi workers were handed termination letters on October 31 as they protested non-renewal of visas of more than 90 fellow workers.

On November 4, Malaysian authorities deported 10 of them after the gloves company executives forcibly took them to the airport in Kuala Lumpur.

On November 7, additional six Bangladeshis were deported the same way.

Meanwhile, the group of 152 workers living in fear and intimidation in Selangor district appointed Louis Liaw Chambers as their legal counsel to legally support their case and wrote an open letter to express their collective and united position regarding the ongoing situation.

"Despite continuous threats, intimidation, and the forced repatriation of our democratically elected worker representatives, we have collectively decided that we will not go back to work under the same management and conditions that violated our dignity, rights, and safety," said the letter.

They sought an immediate transfer to a law-abiding and responsible employer in Malaysia…