Transparent reopening of Malaysia labour market to get priority: Expat secy
Mokhtar says he would place the reasonable proposals before the higher authorities for review.
The government is preparing to reopen Malaysia's labour market for Bangladeshi workers through a fully transparent recruitment process, Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary Md Mokhtar Ahmed said today (16 September).
"Several ministerial-level meetings have already been held between the two countries over the issue," Mokhtar said. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman also raised the matter during bilateral discussions with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar during his first foreign visit, according to a press release from the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment.
Mokhtar made the remarks when representatives of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) submitted a memorandum outlining their demands regarding the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers for Malaysia.
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The recruiting agencies demanded equal opportunities for all eligible agencies, including the 312 agencies previously listed for Malaysia-bound recruitment, and an end to syndication and monopoly in the recruitment process.
They also called for lower migration costs, full transparency in recruitment, access for all qualified medical centres and a one-stop service through Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited.
Mokhtar said he would place the reasonable proposals before the higher authorities for review.
Preparations to reopen the Malaysian labour market were under way, he said, while warning workers and recruiting agencies against intermediaries seeking to exploit the process.
The ministry is taking a strict stance against brokers and fraudulent syndicates, Mokhtar said.
As part of the crackdown, a mobile court sealed the office of Triple A Overseas, fined the agency and seized three boxes of passports over alleged illegal and fraudulent activities, according to the ministry.
Administrative preparations are also under way to determine the mechanism for sending workers to Malaysia once the market reopens, Mokhtar said.
The ministry will formally announce the recruitment process through an official notice once it is finalised, he added.
