KLANG: A Bangladeshi man identified as Mahmud, 31, said he was willing to risk a dangerous sea crossing to marry the woman he loved after being detained in a maritime operation off Selangor.
Speaking to the press, Mahmud said he married his wife in December but was forced to use an illegal route as it was difficult for Bangladeshi nationals to obtain an Indonesian visa.
“I spent about a month in Medan, Indonesia, to get married and spend time with my wife before returning to Malaysia for work,” he said when questioned by Selangor Maritime Operations Deputy Director Mohd Fairusnizam Abdul Razak.
Mahmud said his wife and her parents had pressured him to formalise the marriage.
“She is my first love and because of that I was willing to use a syndicate to go to Indonesia to marry her,” he said, adding that he had known his wife since 2022.
He claimed to possess valid travel documents, including an active passport and visa, and planned to arrange his wife’s documents once she arrived in Malaysia.
Mahmud works at a food manufacturing factory in Johor Bahru and had taken one month of leave to travel. He learned about the smuggling syndicate through his wife, who handled all the arrangements.
“She managed everything. I only contacted the syndicate and paid about RM1,170,” he said. Mahmud was among those arrested after the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) intercepted a boat off Sabak Bernam early Friday (Jan 31).
