Bangladesh-Malaysia labour migration corridor an organised crime structure: Stakeholders
"What is stated in policy is one thing, but what happens in reality is entirely different," said Policy Advisor Zia Hassan
Due to the absence of structural reforms, the Bangladesh–Malaysia labour migration corridor has effectively fallen under the control of organised syndicates over the past decade, leading to an abnormal rise in migration costs, migration experts and sector insiders said on Monday (22 December).
The observations were made during a national dialogue titled "Bangladesh–Malaysia Labour Migration Corridor: Why the Syndicate Prevails, and Exploitation in Recruitment Persists!", organised by the Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Program (OKUP) at the Bangladesh–China Friendship Conference Center (BCFCC) in Dhaka.
Zia Hassan, policy advisor to the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, said there is no effective mechanism governing labour migration to Malaysia.
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"Over the last decade, we have had the same discussions, seminars, and policy proposals, but no meaningful structural reform has taken place. As a result, migration costs have skyrocketed and the entire market has been captured by criminal syndicates," he said.
Describing the corridor as deeply compromised, Hassan added, "This corridor has become an organised crime structure. We must acknowledge the real problems and invest in institutional capacity. Developing a centralised database for migrant recruitment could be a critical step toward restoring accountability."
He also highlighted the disconnect between policy and practice. "What is stated in policy is one thing, but what happens in reality is entirely different. This contradiction has criminalised the entire migration system," he said, adding that existing policies are disconnected from social and market realities.
He argued that the concept of 'zero-cost migration' is unrealistic and that policies must instead be redesigned based on supply-and-demand dynamics in the labour market.
Although the government-set migration cost is capped at Tk78,000, migrant workers are often forced to pay between Tk400,000 and Tk600,000 in reality. This disparity, speakers said, has driven ethical and compliant recruitment agencies out of the market, allowing high-risk and criminal groups to dominate.
The Malaysian authority allowed a limited number of Bangladeshi agencies to send workers, which is widely known as syndicate.
Representatives from recruiting agencies shared that even ethical agencies are being pushed out due to syndicate dominance. One participant said, "We purchased demand letters at a fixed rate, but syndicate-linked agencies later offered much higher prices for the same demand letters. In such a situation, maintaining fairness and transparency becomes nearly impossible."
From the Malaysian side, representatives of the North South Initiative shed light on governance failures within Malaysia. Adrian Pereira commented, "There is no protection for whistle-blowers in Malaysia, and corruption is widespread. A huge amount of money is involved, and without strong political will, meaningful reform remains unlikely."
Speakers described the Malaysian labour market as a syndicate-driven system, noting that a significant portion of migration costs is shared between syndicates and intermediaries operating in both Bangladesh and Malaysia. As a result, officially fixed fees have become largely irrelevant.
The dialogue recommended shifting policy focus in three key areas: from total migration costs to controlling marketing and intermediary costs; from volume-based migration to skilled migration; and from aggregate remittance figures to income per migrant worker.
Setting the tone of the discussion, Shakirul Islam, social researcher and chairperson of OKUP, highlighted the historical evolution of the Bangladesh–Malaysia migration corridor.
He emphasised the socio-economic costs borne by migrant workers and their families due to non-transparent recruitment systems and prolonged policy failures.
The event was organised under the Strengthened and Informative Migration Systems (SIMS) project, funded by the Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh and supported by Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation Bangladesh.
