‘Malaysia to start recruiting Bangladeshi workers again’

Malaysia will again start recruiting Bangladeshi workers after a Joint Working Group Meeting between the two nations on November 24-25, said Minister for Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Imran Ahmad today.

The Malaysian government will recruit registered Bangladeshi workers through a new data bank to minimise costs, the minister said at a press briefing on his recent visit to Malaysia, held at the Probashi Kallyan Bhaban in Dhaka.

"The registration process for the data bank is already underway across Dhaka district as part of a pilot project," he said.

"The registration facility will be available in district employment offices and Union Parishad information centres," he added.

Responding to a query, Imran Ahmed said, "We are confident in facilitating the recruitment of workers in Malaysia with a minimum immigration cost. We have reached a consensus with the Malaysian government in this regard."

The minister, however, could not state for certain the total cost of the recruitment process, adding, "The costs will not reach taka three or four lakh."

Bangladesh and Malaysia also reached a consensus on requiring only one medical test for workers before the immigration process to avoid any hassle.

During his visit to Malaysia, Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmed met with the country's Human Resource Minister M Kulasegaran and Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Imran Ahmed urged Muhyiddin Yassin to ensure the safety of Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia during a meeting.

In 2016, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding in which Malaysia agreed to recruit workers from Bangladesh under the Government-to-Government Plus system, commonly known as the G2G Plus.

Ten Bangladeshi recruitment agencies were authorised to send workers to Malaysia under the five-year contract. The Malaysian government stopped issuing visas to Bangladeshi workers since September last year after suspending the G2G Plus system.