25 Bangladeshi recruitment agencies to send workers to Malaysia

A total of 25 Bangladeshi recruitment agencies and 250 sub-agencies are expected to be involved in the recruitment of migrant workers for Malaysia, reports news portal Malaysiakini citing sources.

Sources familiar with the bilateral negotiations leading up to a new agreement signed by both governments confirmed the matter to Malaysiakini.

Malaysiakini took a look at a document with a chart that outlined the proposed recruitment and repatriation process of Bangladeshi workers.

According to the document, various stages of the recruitment process – from application by employers to arrival – is set to be completed through Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS).

It also stated that a Malaysian employer can directly liaise with the chosen Bangladeshi recruitment agent or appoint a Malaysian agent to facilitate the recruitment process.

On December 19, Bangladeshi Expatriates' Welfare Minister Imran Ahmed and Malaysia's Human Resource Minister M Saravanan signed a new five-year labour recruitment agreement that lifted a freeze imposed since September 1, 2018.

Saravanan, however, did not disclose specific terms of the MOU, including recruitment costs and whether there has been a limit set on the number of Bangladesh recruitment agencies permitted to send workers to Malaysia, said the Malaysiakini report.

In Malaysia, migrant rights group Tenaganita were among those who had urged the government to disclose the MOU terms, raising concerns over the possible revival of an alleged "syndicate" which had in the past been attributed to high recruitment costs and other labour abuses.

The previous agreement suspended by the previous Malaysian government had involved 10 Bangladeshi recruitment agencies and their associates.