Malaysia to resume hiring Bangladeshi workers from late Aug: Mahdi
Govt prioritises state-run recruiter in initial phase as concerns persist over limited private agency participation, he says
Bangladesh is expected to resume sending workers to Malaysia from the last week of August through the state-run Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL), according to the Prime Minister's Adviser Mahdi Amin.
Speaking to journalists at the Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur today (30 July) in the presence of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury, Mahdi said the government had decided to give priority to BOESL in the initial phase of worker recruitment.
"We are considering giving priority to BOESL. Through this organisation, new workers will start arriving from the last week of August," he said.
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Mahdi said the interim government had submitted the names of 423 Bangladeshi recruiting agencies to the Malaysian authorities based on several criteria. Referring to the existing memorandum of understanding between the two countries, he said Bangladesh had requested Malaysia to allow as many of those agencies as possible to participate in sending workers.
He said the current memorandum of understanding would remain valid until December this year. Before its expiry, Malaysia would determine the final number of recruiting agencies after conducting its own verification process and applying its regulatory framework.
"We have requested that, since the largest number of migrant workers in Malaysia come from Bangladesh, the highest possible number of recruiting agencies should be accommodated," he said.
Concerns over agency participation
The adviser's remarks indicate that only a limited number of agencies are likely to be allowed to send workers until the current memorandum of understanding expires in December, raising concerns among stakeholders that another recruitment syndicate could emerge.
During the previous Awami League administration, only 100 agencies were authorised to send workers to Malaysia, a system widely criticised as a syndicate. The current government has recently suspended the licences of 49 of those agencies over allegations of irregularities and corruption in worker recruitment.
Baira member Altab Khan, who previously filed a case against the earlier syndicate, told TBS that agencies not selected by Malaysia would also be able to send workers through BOESL. "As a result, many more agencies will have an opportunity to participate."
Labour market reopening
Mahdi said Bangladesh and Malaysia had held constructive high-level discussions aimed at reopening the labour market, which has remained closed since June 2024, and completing the recruitment process as quickly as possible.
He said the government remained committed to ensuring a transparent recruitment process free from syndicates so that Bangladeshi workers could migrate to Malaysia safely and at lower cost.
Migrant workers' demand
Meanwhile, the Migrant Welfare Network, a platform of Bangladeshi migrant workers, in a statement issued today, called upon the governments of Bangladesh and Malaysia to publicly disclose the agreed framework, implementation strategy, and timeline for reopening the Bangladesh-Malaysia migration corridor.
It demanded ensuring full transparency in worker recruitment, selection, and deployment processes.
The Network also called upon the governments to clearly announce approved migration costs, eligibility criteria, and safeguards to prevent overcharging and exploitation.
