Friday, April 26, 2024
Home ›› Economy ›› Human Resource
The ongoing movement calling for an end to the syndication of recruitment agencies in Malaysia has found new ground after an anonymous open letter along with a cache of leaked documents exposed the revival of a “syndicate" in the hiring of 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers and possible breaches of competition laws in both countries.
The letter, dated January 24 with no signatories, was addressed to Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yookob and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, online news portal Malaysiakini reported on Saturday.
Calling for an end to what has been described as a “massive monopoly, exploitation and manipulation” in the hiring of Bangladeshi migrant workers, the letter was attached with leaked official letters from the Malaysian Home Ministry and Human Resources Ministry, which matched original documents sighted by Malaysiakini and verified by the news portal.
The letter surfaced around the time when the Malaysian National Association of Private Employment Agencies refused to own its government’s decision on recruiting manpower from Bangladesh through syndication, comprising only 25 Bangladesh Recruitment Agencies (BRA).
According to the Malaysiakini report, the leaked documents include letters of intent and letters of acceptance issued by the Malaysian government to IT solutions provider Bestinet Sdn Bhd and manpower recruitment agency Synerflux Sdn Bhd - two companies involved in managing processes involved in recruiting migrant workers.
Other documents were applications by Malaysian employers as well as approvals of work permits.
The open letter made references to recruitments conducted prior to 2018 and upcoming arrivals under the latest five—year Malaysia— Bangladesh agreement, alleging the revival of a politically connected “syndicate" and possible breaches of competition laws in both countries, the report said.
“Like the Competition Act of Bangladesh 2012, Malaysia too has the Competition Act 2010 (Act 7\2) that is very much applicable in this (recruitment) matter," the letter reads.
“Repeated statements by Human Resources Minister M Saravanan for 25 agencies that will be supported by 250 agencies is a clear violation of the Competition Act 2010," said the letter‘s anonymous authors.
“The Competition Act 2010 strictly prohibits any horizontal or vertical agreements between enterprises that significantly prevent, restrict or distort competition in any market for goods and services.”
Malaysian Human Resources Minister M Saravanan in a recent interview denied the existence of a syndicate or any monopoly in the appointment of Bangladesh recruitment agencies, contrary to concerns raised by the Bangladesh Association of International Recruitment Agencies (Baira) and migrant activists.
However, in a letter on January 14, Saravanan urged his Bangladeshi counterpart Minister for Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Imran Ahmad to initiate the process of sending workers to Malaysia through 25 Bangladesh Recruitment Agencies (BRA).
Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad on January 18 responded to the Saravanan letter reiterating open competition from Bangladesh.
“I want to reiterate that, Bangladesh is always in favour of transparent, fair and safe migration, as per relevant charters of International Labour Organisation (ILO), our Competition Act 2012 by keeping the opportunities open to all the valid licensed Bangladeshi Recruiting Agencies (BRA) as mentioned in Chapter C (v) and C(vi) of Appendix B of the MOU,” read Imran’s letter.
“According to the provision, the Government of Malaysia shall select BRA automatically through the online system from the list provided by the government of Bangladesh, and Government of Malaysia shall ensure transparency and fairness in the selection and distribution of quota.”
Similarly, Bangladeshi recruiting agencies also demanded keeping the labour market open for all valid recruiting agents to ensure fair competition through media briefings on several occasions.
They said several recruiting agents said Nepal, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia are among other countries that send workers to Malaysia through open competition among their recruiting agencies.
'No formal contract'
The Malaysiakini report also mentioned that neither Synerflux nor Bestinet had signed a formal agreement with the government after both companies received their letter of acceptance (LOA).
It also added that the latest LOA issued to Bestinet, which was also attached to the open letter, was dated January 12, 2018, seven months before the then human resources minister M Kulasegaran announced the suspension of its operations following allegations of the company’s involvement in a recruitment scam that exploited Nepalese workers.
Kulasegaran later moved to suspend recruitments from Bangladesh carried out under Synerflux‘s Foreign Workers Application System (SPPA) on Sept 1, 2018, before reinitiating bilateral negotiations with Bangladesh.
“By then (2018), close to 300,000 Bangladeshi workers were hired through this syndicate and had to pay high fees of up to RM20,000 per person," the open letter said.
“The syndicate was made up of only 10 agencies (out of 1,600 registered Bangladeshi agencies), which created a ‘super monopoly' and workers were subjected to various exploitations and manipulation,” the letter added.
A Malaysian home ministry approval letter to Synerflux, dated January 23, 2017 — with a list of the 10 selected Bangladesh recruitment agencies - as well as the company's termination letter dated April 16, 2019, was attached to the open letter.
“In the past, an old but very well—known syndicate (Bestinet Sdn Bhd, Synerflux Sdn Bhd and associated companies/agencies) led by Aminul Islam, a Bangladeshi national who now holds a Malaysian national ID card, crippled and tainted the whole process,” read the open letter.
Media reports previously quoted Mohd Amin Abdul Nor as Bestinet Group CEO but Companies Commission's records listed Aminul Islam Abdul Nor, believed to be Amin's real name, as one of the company's directors.
A check with Synerflux‘s company records also found “Aminul Islam Abdul Nor” listed as a previous director, appointed on November 23, 2010, and resigned on July 5, 2015.
In 2015, Bestinet had denied links with Synerflux in response to allegations in the wake of the company's appointment to manage the 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers.
Bangladesh media had in the past highlighted Amin's alleged role in controlling “syndicates” formed by selected agencies, but the company had denied direct involvement in recruiting migrant workers.
The syndication claims also involved alleged payments made by the agencies to be included in the approved list, as well as lobbies from well— connected individuals in Bangladesh and Malaysia, the report said.
Speaking to Malaysiakini, Saravanan claimed Amin has no record of supplying migrant workers.
He, however, admitted there were individuals, including BN and MIC members with connections in Bangladesh - who had personally lobbied him for a stake in the recruitment process.
Saravanan is also MIC deputy president.
The minister is expected to table the proposal to involve 25 Bangladesh recruitment agencies at the cabinet meeting next week, according to sources.
Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced on January 28 that new applications by employers to hire migrant workers from Bangladesh are now open in stages.
