Baira faction alleges attack at press briefing against Malaysian labour market syndicate

A faction of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) has alleged that they were attacked during a pre-scheduled press conference opposing syndicates in the Malaysian labour market.

This anti-syndicate group, led by former Baira vice president Reaz-ul-Islam, said they arrived at the Sagar Runi Hall of the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) around 11am yesterday to join the press conference. However, they claimed that a pro-syndicate group was already there.

"When we came to participate in the press conference, they obstructed us. They attacked us. Former Baira joint secretary general Fakhrul Islam, Baira member Mostafa Mahmud and Nazrul Islam Monir were wounded," Reaz-ul-Islam told TBS.

"Fakhrul was confined to a room. Later, he was freed as police arrived at the scene," he added.

They said the attack was done by the "pro-syndicate" Baira member and managing partner of Al Aqaba Associate, Atiqur Rahman, along with some outsiders.

Atiqur Rahman told reporters they went there spontaneously to join the press conference.

"We were prevented from entering the hall. We were told that no one except the person who called the press conference would be allowed in. We were told that when Fakhrul arrives, we would enter together. But after he arrived, he asked three or four people to enter and refused the rest, saying there was less space and more people could not be accommodated," said Atiqur.

"Regarding this, the general members wanted to know why everyone was invited if only three or four people could be accommodated. This led to an argument, followed by tension and pushing," he added.

Atiqur claimed that when Fakhrul Islam said he would not hold a press conference, the general members became upset.

The press conference was called to support a recent proposal by Expatriate Welfare Adviser Asif Nazrul to the Malaysian government to eliminate the recruiting agency syndicate. It also aimed to push for a final decision on the issue at the upcoming Joint Working Group meeting between the two countries.

Anti-syndicate leader Fakhrul Islam alleged to TBS that the attack was pre-planned and took place under the direction of former Baira secretary and syndicate mastermind Ruhul Amin, along with Ali Haider Chowdhury and Kazi Mofiz. He said they would take legal steps.
Ali Haider Chowdhury, however, denied the allegation to TBS.

Khalid Mansur, officer-in-charge of Shahbagh police station, told TBS, "One faction of Baira had a pre-scheduled press conference, but another group came and obstructed it. Later, in the presence of the DRU president, secretary, and police, both sides agreed to hold separate press conferences in the afternoon based on mutual understanding."

The pro-syndicate press conference was led by Baira member Atiqur Rahman and Mesbah Uddin Sayed, who are reportedly linked with BNP and Jamaat, respectively.

Mainul Hasan Sohel, general secretary of the Dhaka Reporters Unity, said the clash between the two groups caused serious damage to DRU.

"Vandalism occurred on the fourth floor and downstairs. We have CCTV footage. The police have arrived, and we will take action against the attackers," he added.

The Malaysian labour market has been closed since June last year. Talks are now underway to reopen it.

Bangladesh wants all registered recruiting agencies to get equal opportunities to send workers. However, under a 2021 agreement, Malaysia allowed only 100 agencies.

This limited number of agencies is known as the syndicate, which caused migration costs to rise to over Tk6 lakh per worker. Former finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal and three other Awami League MPs were reportedly involved in the syndicate.

Recently, the Bangladesh Civil Society for Migrants, a network of 23 agencies, warned that efforts are being made to form a new syndicate linked to the currently powerful political force replacing the Awami League.