Malaysian cabinet to decide on recruiters: HR minister Saravanan

The modus operandi and mechanism for hiring workers from Bangladesh will come into effect only after the Malaysian cabinet meeting approval, said visiting Malaysian Human Resource Minister Datuk Seri M Saravanan.

He, however, said the receiving country (Malaysia) will decide who the labour recruiters are in Bangladesh.

“Usually, the receiving country decides about the agency issue. We will do this according to the decision of our cabinet,” Saravanan told reporters after a Joint Working Group meeting with his Bangladeshi counterpart at the Probashi Kallyan Bhaban
in Dhaka.

Saravanan made the remarks after journalists asked him whether there would be a syndicate of recruiters, or an open-for-all model be adopted for sending labourers from Bangladesh to Malaysia.

Ministry Secretary Ahmed Munirus Saleheen and other senior officials represented Bangladesh in this meeting, which was also attended by a Malaysian delegation.

Following the programme, Expatriates Welfare Minister Imran Ahmad also said the Malaysian government will select the recruiting agencies among a list of 1,520 Bangladeshi agents, which was previously sent by the Ministry Of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment.

Speaking to reporters at the ministry after his meeting with Saravanan, the minister said, “Bangladesh has 1,520 officially recognised recruiting agencies, and we already sent this list to the Malaysian government. But, selection is their [Malaysia] right, and they will exercise it.

“Though there are repeated mentions of 25, 50 or 100 agencies, such figures are not found in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) or in the Thursday’s meeting minutes. When a person takes a [recruiting agency] license, they obviously take it to do business. It is entirely up to them to find business and market themselves.”

He continued, “Bangladesh may start sending manpower to Malaysia from this June, and a minimum of two lakh people will go to that country within a year. The Malaysian government said they will need five lakh people in five years, but considering the present situation, I believe that the target will be fulfilled within this year.

“An expatriate will have to spend Tk 1.6 lakh as per the MoU to go to Malaysia, but the figure will go down in the coming days. Malaysian employers will pay all ticket fares, bear Covid test and quarantine expenses. The Bangladesh government will fix agency and other fees.”

Present at the press brief, ministry Secretary Munirus Saleheen said an expatriate will get a minimum wage of 1,500 Malaysian Ringgit per month, and he or she will enjoy other employment benefits as per Malaysian regulations.

Meanwhile, quoting the Malaysian minister, his Bangladeshi counterpart Imran said, “He believes that completely zero cost will be ensured. If anyone violates it, the Malaysian government will take action. We will also take action in such cases.

“They [Malaysia] will hire people from our database. After selection, aspirants will take their medical certificates. We already completed almost all the work regarding this process. We believe that no further meeting will be required in this regard.”

Bangladesh’s labour market in Malaysia

Bangladesh first signed an agreement to send manpower to Malaysia in 1992. But the process stopped after a few years. Sending of manpower had earlier resumed in 2006, but the Malaysian government stopped the process yet again in 2009 over alleged illegal migration.

After several discussions between the two governments, Bangladesh signed another agreement in 2016 to send manpower to Malaysia. But due to widespread allegations of irregularities and syndication, the process stopped once again in September 2018.

Bangladesh signed a new MoU with Malaysia On December 21 last year to send manpower.

In January this year, Malaysian Human Resource Minister Datuk Seri M Saravanan – in a letter to the Expatriates Welfare Minister Imran Ahmad – mentioned that Bangladesh’s labour market in Malaysia will not be opened to all.

Bangladesh will be able to send workers to that country only through 25 recruiting agencies and 250 sub-agents. In response, Bangladesh had said the proposal is not acceptable as it goes against the Competition Act and also the International Labour Organisation (ILO) convention.

The Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies’ (BAIRA) anti-syndicate grand alliance and the Sommilito Somonnoy Front have been demanding the cancellation of syndication in the country’s major labour market Malaysia, and ensuring the participation of all valid recruiting agencies in this process.

Reason for 2018 labour market shutdown

In 2016, the labour market began with just ten agencies under the FWCMS online system controlled by BESTINET SDN BHD, but workers’ migration was suspended after just one and half years due to irregularities, corruption and high migration costs.

It should be noted that though the system provider was supposed to take 105 ringgits (around Tk 2,100) from each employer under this method, Bangladeshi-origin Malaysian Dato Seri Amin and his business associate in Bangladesh Ruhul Amin Swapan hike the amount by almost fifty times, and embezzled a large amount of money from poor and innocent local workers, it was alleged.

This matter was later covered by a number of local and foreign media. As a result, the then Malaysian government led by Mahathir suspended Dato Seri Amin’s system in September of 2018 due to this syndicate’s systematic corruption.

The government directed that workers be sent abroad at minimal costs and with the involvement of most recruiting agencies, but due to the irregularities and corruption in the system, the country could not even send 25 per cent of the targeted 12 lakh workers.

Discrimination in sending workers between Bangladesh and 13 other countries

It is undignified to send workers from Bangladesh through a syndicate while Malaysia hires workers from 13 other source countries in regular ways without syndication. For other countries, migration cost is much lower as employers can choose recruiting agencies themselves.

Like the 13 other source countries, we think it is a matter of the Bangladesh government itself to decide how many agencies will be selected and the selection criteria. So, while selecting legal and qualified agencies, the Malaysian government deciding solely to select 25 agencies is illogical and unacceptable.

Even Malaysia has more than 500 approved recruiting agencies

It should be noted that the Malaysian government – after facing much criticism and protests in their own country – approved more than 500 recruiting agencies (those having the C licence), instead of selecting the proposed 25 firms.

So, for the best interest of Bangladesh, it is essential that all legitimate and eligible recruiting agencies in the country get the opportunity to work, industry insiders said.

The agencies have to be allowed to work equally and competitively in both countries in a 1:1 ratio. If 513 Malaysian recruiting agencies (those having the C licence) work with only 25 agencies in Bangladesh, the 1:21 work ratio will be illogical and unacceptable.

According to the Bangladesh Competition Act 2012, it is compulsory to allow all legal and qualified recruiting agencies to work considering our country’s interests.