Malaysia to hire workers who missed last year's deadline in construction, traditional sectors: Bangladesh mission in KL

The Malaysian government will recruit Bangladeshi workers under a high quota in the construction and traditional sectors, applicable to only those who missed the migration deadline last year, the Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur has announced.

According to an official notification issued today (1 August), this opportunity applies specifically to workers who had secured approval from the Malaysian authorities through BOESL (Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited) but were unable to travel before the 31 May 2024 deadline.

To facilitate the recruitment process, the relevant authorities have now been authorised to collect demand letters for these sectors. All necessary and approved information must be submitted through the FWCMS (Foreign Workers Centralised Management System) online portal.

Once the data is submitted and evaluated, the final list will be sent to the Bangladesh High Commission for further processing, reads the statement.

Last year, around 18,000 migrant workers failed to reach Malaysia before the deadline due to mismanagement by government authorities and local recruiting agents as they failed to provide tickets.

The Malaysian authorities, later, declined to extend the deadline following calls made by the then Bangladeshi government in early June.

After the regime change in August 2024, Dr Asif Nazrul, the interim government's adviser to the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, said Malaysia has agreed to receive 18,000 Bangladeshi workers who previously missed a deadline to enter the country.

Asif Nazrul made the remarks in October 2024 after attending an agreement signing ceremony on protection and welfare of Bangladesh workers in Malaysia, at Expatriates' Welfare Bhaban, between the Wage Earners' Welfare Board and Perkeso, a Malaysian government body.

In December, the Bangladesh High Commissioner to Malaysia Md Shameem Ahsan met with the country's Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and discussed the issue of the aspirant Bangladeshi workers.

Later, a joint technical group was formed consisting of representatives from the country's immigration and the Bangladesh High Commission to take the stranded Bangladeshis to Malaysia in phases.

In January 2025, the interim government selected a total of 7,964 aspirant migrants, out of the total 18,000, for sending to Malaysia in the first phase, according to an announcement by foreign ministry spokesperson Md Rafiqul Alam.