Malaysia stalls hiring foreign workers [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

Malaysia stalls hiring foreign workers

Local February 20, 2016

The fates of several lakh aspirant migrant workers became uncertain as the Malaysian government decided to suspend recruitment of all foreign workers, including those from Bangladesh.
Instead of recruiting foreign workers, the East Asian country also decided to recruit local workers after deporting illegal workers from there, according to reports of the Malaysian media.
In 2012, responding to a government call, more than 14 lakh aspirant workers had enlisted their names with government database to work in Malaysia, said officials. Of them, only 10,000 workers have been able to get jobs in Malaysia.
The decision of the Malaysian government came a day after Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur signed a memorandum of understanding over the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers under a government-to-government scheme, also involving the private sector.
‘We urge all employers to recruit local workers,’ said deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also in charge of the home ministry, reported Malaysian newspaper The Star.
When asked, Labour counselor at Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur Mohammad Sayedul Islam told New Age that they found out about the suspension of foreign workers from the local media in Malaysia and the Malaysian government has not informed Bangladesh formally about the decision.
‘The recruitment of foreign workers was temporarily suspended but the Malaysian government has not decided to cancel manpower recruitment from Bangladesh,’ he said in reply to a question.
He, however, said that irregular Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia were taking the benefit of the legalisation programme that will continued until December 31.
After meeting with army personnel on Friday, Malaysian deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that the suspension would be in place while the government reviewed the two-tier levy programme for foreign workers.
Ahmad Zahid added that existing illegal workers in Malaysia would be detained and deported.
Nurul Haque, an aspirant worker who registered in 2013 with the government database, said he was frustrated over the news.
‘I have been waiting for three years to get a job in Malaysia. I was happy as Dhaka and KL signed a MoU to recruit more workers. But today’s news has left me frustrated,’ Nurul told New Age from Natore Sadar.
Shafiqul Islam from Uttarkhan in Dhaka said that although he was selected among 30,000 workers for plantation jobs under the G2G system, he has still not got any call from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training for the job.
Meanwhile, Malaysian human resources minister Richard Riot Anak Jaem who signed the MoU with Bangladesh on Thursday has clarified that there were a total of 1.5 million Bangladeshis registered for future employment in foreign countries, but that was not the number of workers coming to Malaysia.
‘The perception that 1.5 million‎ workers will be brought in from Bangladesh to work in Malaysia is not true,’ he said, according to separate report of The Star.
‘The figure is, in fact, the number of Bangladeshis registered with its ministry of expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment for the purpose of seeking employment in foreign countries, including Malaysia,’ he told a press conference in Putrajaya on Friday.
He said the Bangladeshis were seeking employment in 139 countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
He hoped the clarification would allay fears and concern that a huge influx of foreigners, particularly from Bangladesh, were on their way to Malaysia.
As of December last year, there were 2,135,035 documented foreign workers in Malaysia, of which 282,287 are from Bangladesh.
Riot also said the Memorandum of Understanding signed in Dhaka on Thursday was similar to what the government had previously signed with Indonesia, India, Thailand, Cambodia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
Expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment minister Nurul Islam and Malaysian human resource minister Richard Riot Anak Jaem signed the memorandum at Probashi Kalyan Bhaban on Thursday to recruit workers under G2G plus scheme allowing involvement of private recruiting agencies.
In the wake of massive irregularities in the recruiting process, the Malaysian government had stopped hiring Bangladeshi workers in 2008.
After a series of meetings and diplomatic initiatives, Malaysia agreed to recruit Bangladeshi workers under a government-to-government system. And a memorandum was signed on November 26, 2012.
Under the system, which was strongly opposed by the private recruiting agencies, about 10,000 Bangladeshis went to Malaysia taking jobs in the plantation sector.
Migrants’ rights campaigners said that just after signing the MoU on manpower recruitment, Malaysian government’s decision on suspension of foreign workers has tarnished the image of Bangladesh.
The foreign ministry should take up the issue with their Malaysian counterpart, they said.
‘We urge the Bangladesh government to make public the manpower agreements signed with different countries,’ Syed Saiful Haque, chairman of WARBE Development Foundation, a migrant rights body.
He said that manpower issues should be dealt through coordinated efforts of the ministries of expatriates’ welfare and foreign affairs to remove such problems.
An executive committee member of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies said that the suspension of recruitment of workers would badly affect Bangladesh as thousands of workers remain ready to go to work overseas in countries including Malaysia.
‘It is very sad news for Bangladesh,’ the BAIRA leader said, adding that Malaysian government has also shown ‘immaturity’ by suspending recruitment of workers just after signing MoU with Bangladesh.