'Students' cause stir in Malaysia

Malaysia compared Bangladeshi workers to Indian movie stars

Malaysia is being swamped by thousands of illegal Bangladeshi workers who are gaining entrance on the pretext of being students, according to reports.

The men are causing havoc among local women who fall for their good looks and charms, the Strait Times and AP said.

Bangladeshis were banned in 2004 for causing "social problems", a government official added.

Home affairs minister Radzi Sheikh Ahmad said the men end up doing menial jobs in response to a labour shortage.

The country's prospering economy has created an opportunity for the men to take up less-skilled employment as it has provided more Malaysians with white collar jobs.

Movie stars

Mr Radzi said the men looked like Indian movie stars and had be known to hassle women - both single and married - who were lured by their good looks.

"This is really fishy," Mr Radzi said, adding that most of the men were aged 25 to 30 and were claiming to be English students.

"Bangladesh is an English-Speaking country and it makes little sense for them to study English here," Mr Radzi added.

Most of the workers gain entrance because agents arrange deals with colleges to give them visas, before settling them in work said the government official.

"Of course Malaysia is striving to be an education hub but abuse of provisions is something that cannot be tolerated," Mr Radzi said

Only a few nationalities are allowed to enter Malaysia to work, including Indonesia, India, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.