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KUCHING, March 2 (Bernama) — Demonstrations organised simultaneously in four divisions to protest against the entry of Bangladeshi workers to Sarawak last Saturday run smoothly without any untoward incidents, said Sarawak Deputy Police Commissioner Datuk Dr Chai Khin Chung.
The demonstrations obtained permit from the police and police monitoring revealed the organisers met all the criteria set, he told a media conference here today.
The “Say No To Bangla” demonstration organised by the civil society movement, Gerakan Anak Sarawak (Gasak) was held simultaneously in Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu and Miri.
The Sarawak state recently announced the plan to bring in 12,000 Bangladeshi workers to work in the plantation sector in the state.
Gasak is of the view that bringing workers from Bangladesh would affect job opportunities for locals in the plantation sector.
Resources Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot was reported as saying the first group of 5,000 workers from Bangladesh would be brought into Sarawak in April this year.
He said the main aim of taking foreign workers was to address the shortage of 30,000 workers in the oil palm plantations in the state.
Source: Bernama
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