Dhaka to send workers to Malaysia starting last week of August

After remaining closed for a long time, Malaysia’s labor market has reopened following bilateral talks. Based on an agreement between the two countries, opportunities have been created for workers from all sectors to travel to Malaysia, Prime Minister’s Adviser and spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office Mahdi Amin said.

The Prime Minister’s adviser expressed hope that if workers begin traveling within the next month, it will contribute to the country’s economy in the long term.

A press conference was held at 3 pm Thursday at the Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur. At the press conference, Mahdi Amin said, “Giving the ‘Bangladesh First’ policy the highest priority, we have set a realistic goal. The departure of Bangladeshi workers for Malaysia will begin from the last week of next month, August.”

Minister for Labor and Employment and Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Ariful Haque Chowdhury was present at the press conference.

Mahdi Amin thanked the Malaysian government for reopening the labor market quickly.

“This progress has been possible with the cooperation of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri R. Ramnan and all those responsible,” he said.

The Prime Minister’s adviser said the current government is working with the utmost sincerity to ensure overall improvement in the quality of life and a better working environment for expatriate workers living in Malaysia.

Calling on the people of Bangladesh, he said, “Since our labor market is reopening and we hope that within the next month some of our brothers and sisters will come here and start working, I urge everyone to remain patient and follow the proper procedures.”

He said strict measures would be taken to protect ordinary people from fraud by brokers and dishonest syndicates.

He said that after returning to the country, he would discuss the matter with law enforcement agencies and the administration and provide necessary instructions so that no one suffers any kind of harassment. At the same time, he urged everyone to remain particularly alert about these fraud networks.

Regarding technical activities and joint initiatives between the two countries, the Prime Minister’s adviser said work at the technical level would begin very soon.

The Bangladesh High Commission in Malaysia and the Malaysian High Commission in Dhaka will jointly advance the work. In addition, processes are being accelerated and made more transparent through joint decisions by Malaysia’s Ministry of Human Resources and Bangladesh’s Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment.

Mahdi Amin said the Malaysian government would soon provide an update on its working procedures and the formal process would be announced.

He also said instructions had been given to make Bangladesh’s High Commission in Malaysia more people friendly.

He said the state owned Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training, known as BOESL, is being given priority in the recruitment process for the first phase.

“We have requested the Malaysian government to ensure that the recruitment process in the first phase is completed through BOESL. Reducing migration costs, improving skills and creating employment opportunities in Malaysia for skilled manpower through a completely transparent process are the current government’s top priorities,” he said.

Referring to the list of 423 recruiting agencies sent to the Malaysian government during the interim government, the Prime Minister’s adviser said, “Based on the current memorandum of understanding that remains valid until December this year, Malaysia will determine the final number of agencies based on its own verification and screening process and framework.”

He said they had requested the Malaysian government to include the maximum possible number of recruiting agencies, considering that Malaysia is the destination for the largest number of Bangladeshi workers.

He also sent a clear message about excluding people involved in fascism and corruption.

“Bangladesh’s Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment has already canceled the licenses of individuals involved in the previous fascist regime, various forms of corruption and unethical activities. Therefore, we have conveyed our clear message to the Malaysian government. Those who were involved in fascist and unethical activities or committed corruption as part of syndicates will not be included in the new list. The Malaysian authorities will confirm the matter within a short time,” he said.

Recalling that overseas employment was initiated under the leadership of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman and that the journey of expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment began under the leadership of BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, he said, “Expatriates exercised their voting rights, and their welfare was also promised in Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s election manifesto. The BNP has always been a pro expatriate party and will always give the highest value to the interests, aspirations and expectations of expatriates.”

The spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office highlighted the longstanding historical relationship between Bangladesh and Malaysia.

“This relationship began under the leadership of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman and was elevated to a different level during the tenure of Begum Khaleda Zia. Maintaining that continuity, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman chose Malaysia as the first country for his first foreign visit,” he said.

According to Mahdi Amin, “The relationship between Bangladesh and Malaysia has now taken a multidimensional form. Strong discussions are underway between the two countries on creating employment in Bangladesh through increased trade and investment. We are also working on how people to people contact can be further increased on a number of bilateral issues, including technology transfer, education, health care and culture. Discussions are also underway on how to further expand the scope of work of Malaysian companies that have already invested in Bangladesh.”

Mahdi Amin said relations between Bangladesh and leading Malaysian companies were becoming stronger.

In this regard, he mentioned the investment and activities of major companies such as Axiata and MMC Ports.

At the press conference, he said regarding the energy sector, “In order to address the current gas crisis in Bangladesh, discussions are underway on how Malaysia’s state owned energy giant Petronas can supply gas as quickly as possible. In addition, the two countries are holding regular and productive discussions on human resource management in Malaysia, which is a huge market for skilled manpower.”

Earlier, referring to a meeting between the top leaders of the two countries, he said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had recently held highly productive discussions with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on various issues of bilateral interest.

He said they had discussed in detail how Petronas could play a role in resolving Bangladesh’s current gas crisis as quickly as possible.

Highlighting the contribution of expatriate workers and the background behind the closure of the labor market, the Prime Minister’s adviser said this highly important labor market had been closed due to various unethical practices and irregularities during the previous fascist regime.

He said the interim government took an initiative to reopen the market after assuming office. However, the market remained closed for so long due to various complications.

He said it was finally reopened through the effective diplomatic efforts of the current government.

Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury and Prime Minister’s Adviser Mahdi Amin are currently in Malaysia on a three day state visit.

They are scheduled to return to Dhaka early Friday morning.

Bangladesh High Commissioner to Malaysia Manzurul Karim Khan Chowdhury and officials of the High Commission were also present at the press conference.