Malaysia has issued new guidelines on the process and rules for recruiting workers from Bangladesh, raising hopes within the Bangladesh government that the country’s closed labor market may reopen to Bangladeshi workers. Questions remain, however, over whether the new recruitment drive will avoid the syndicate practices and irregularities that plagued the market previously. The report is based on BBC Bangla.
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) on worker recruitment was signed between Bangladesh and Malaysia in 2021 and remains valid through this coming December. An official at the relevant ministry in Dhaka said Bangladesh must send workers in line with that existing MOU while it remains in effect. He said the government would take steps toward a new memorandum or agreement after December.
Bangladesh’s worker recruitment to the Malaysian labor market was suspended in June 2024 following allegations of corruption, irregularities and syndicate control over the process. Various complications had also arisen at different points before that regarding the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia.
Manpower exporters allege that an influential group connected to the previous syndicate is now trying to regain control of the Malaysian labor market. Mohammad Fakhrul Islam, a former joint secretary general of BAIRA, said many of the listed recruiting agencies are unfamiliar even to industry insiders. He alleged that a segment of the old syndicate has now joined forces with some newly influential figures in an attempt to control the market, raising fears of large-scale corruption.
Expatriate Welfare Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury, however, rejected the syndicate allegations in an interview with BBC Bangla.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s Ministry of Human Resources issued detailed guidelines on Sunday covering the process and rules for hiring foreign workers, stating that the entire recruitment process must be transparent, orderly and follow set rules. The Bangladesh government views this as a possible signal that the labor market may reopen.
Under the guidelines, eight steps must be followed, from hiring a foreign worker through to their starting work in Malaysia. First, an employer must obtain approval for its worker requirement and post a vacancy notice on a designated platform. It must then apply for a foreign worker quota at the Ministry of Human Resources’ one-stop center.
After document verification and an interview, the quota will be approved. The employer must then pay a levy, or government fee, to receive a conditional approval letter. The next step involves completing formalities at the Malaysian embassy or relevant diplomatic mission in the worker’s home country.
The employer must then arrange to recruit and send the worker to Malaysia through an approved recruitment agency. Finally, after obtaining a Visa With Reference (VDR), the worker will be able to enter Malaysia.
Employers have been advised to use the Malaysian government’s Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS) portal for information on managing foreign workers and for the list of approved recruitment agencies.
Malaysia is one of the most important markets for Bangladesh’s manpower exports. Reopening Malaysia’s labor market was also a significant focus during Prime Minister Tareque Rahman’s first overseas visit, to Malaysia, this past February. But new worker recruitment has remained suspended since Malaysia’s labor market closed to Bangladesh and several other countries in June 2024.
Malaysia has recently published a list of approved recruiting agencies and medical centers for Bangladesh and several other countries, further strengthening the possibility that the country’s closed labor market could soon reopen.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report