The same old corrupt practices appear to be stalking the prospect of resuming labour recruitment from Bangladesh to Malaysia. The worries have resurfaced despite Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur’s repeated promises to make the process more transparent.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s June 21-22 visit to Malaysia had raised hopes that the two countries would overhaul a recruitment framework long criticised for excessive migration costs, limited transparency and alleged syndicate control.
Following talks between Tarique and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the two governments agreed to convene a Joint Working Group (JWG) to review the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on labour migration and draft a revised agreement reflecting the current needs of both countries.
But even before the JWG has met or a new MoU has been negotiated, recent statements from officials in both countries have fuelled uncertainty over whether recruitment may continue under the same system that drew widespread criticism in the past.
Last Monday, Malaysia’s Human Resources Minister R Ramanan announced a series of digital reforms aimed at streamlining foreign worker recruitment.
Under the new arrangement, quota applications will be processed through the eQuota module under the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS), he said at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.
The mention of FWCMS has revived old concerns, as the platform operated by Bestinet has remained at the centre of controversy for years.
Bestinet director Aminul Islam has faced allegations of manipulating Bangladesh-Malaysia labour recruitment during both the 2016-18 and 2022-24 periods. The company has denied wrongdoing.
Malaysia suspended recruitment of Bangladeshi workers in June 2024 following widespread allegations of excessive migration costs, workers arriving without jobs and other forms of exploitation. The controversy triggered criticism in both Bangladesh and Malaysia and prompted Kuala Lumpur to promise reforms.
However, a recruitment industry source in Malaysia told The Daily Star on condition of anonymity, “The business lobby is so powerful that the Malaysian authorities are struggling to free themselves from its influence.”
Industry insiders say meaningful reform will remain difficult unless politically connected interests that dominated previous recruitment arrangements are dismantled.
Fakhrul Islam, former joint secretary general of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA), said the problem lies not in FWCMS itself but in how it is used.
“The manipulation within the system is the real issue,” he said.
During the 2022-24 recruitment period, Malaysia authorised only 101 Bangladeshi recruiting agencies.
Even when other licensed agencies secured job orders from Malaysian employers, those demands had to be processed through one of the 101 agencies listed in the FWCMS.
Fakhrul also alleged that Bestinet exercised significant control over medical testing arrangements by determining designated medical centres without effective oversight from the Bangladesh government.
Migration researcher Mohammad Harun-Al Rashid said the problems began even earlier, at the stage of Malaysia’s worker quota approvals.
According to him, some Malaysian companies obtained quotas for far more workers than they ultimately employed, leaving many migrants jobless after arrival.
“That created widespread unemployment and exploitation, while brokers and intermediaries profited from the system,” he said.
Various studies estimate that Bangladeshi workers paid between Tk 4,00,000 and Tk 6,00,000 to secure jobs in Malaysia, which currently hosts around 8,00,000 documented Bangladeshi workers.
Questions have also emerged over Bangladesh’s own messaging on the issue.
On Tuesday, Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury announced that Malaysia had reopened its labour market for Bangladeshi workers from Monday.
“The benefits of the prime minister’s foreign tour have already started to materialise,” he told reporters in Sylhet.
Yet the following day, his ministry instructed recruiting agencies not to sign contracts, collect passports, arrange medical examinations or receive any payments until the government formally announces the recruitment process.
The ministry warned that any recruitment activity before the official notification would be considered unauthorised.
Migration rights group Migrant Workers Network in a statement on Wednesday said the minister’s announcement, without an accompanying recruitment framework, could encourage unauthorised brokers to collect money from prospective migrants.
It questioned whether recruitment would proceed under the existing MoU or a revised agreement and sought clarification on recruitment procedures, agency selection and safeguards against syndicates and excessive migration costs.
Anisur Rahman Khan, executive director of the International Migrants Alliance, said the government should prioritise transparency and workers’ rights over recruitment numbers.
“We often see governments highlighting overseas employment figures and remittance inflows for political purposes. That approach is flawed,” he said.
Researcher Harun argued that all licensed recruiting agencies should be allowed to compete equally for Malaysian job orders.
“Any licensed agency should be able to secure demand letters and recruit workers. Anything else creates opportunities for manipulation,” he said.
He added that the Malaysian government must verify the validity of job offers and take responsibility for any wrongdoing.
He called for an agreement signed between Bangladesh and Malaysia before starting any fresh recruitment. “It should clearly define responsibilities and accountability of government and private actors,” Harun said.
