Malaysia again shuts door for BD workers

Bangladesh is set to face another impact for its foreign exchange reserves as Malaysia -- a key destination for Bangladeshi workers -- announced it will no longer welcome Bangladeshi workers from June 1.

This job market closure follows similar closures in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

Currently, more than 1.0 million Bangladeshi nationals, mostly unskilled labourers, reside in Malaysia. Their money transfers to home steadily increased from $1.02 billion in FY 2021-22 to $1.12 billion in FY 2022-23 and reaching $1.22 billion by April this year.

"The closure of an important market like Malaysia is now critical to Bangladesh's forex reserves. This is undoubtedly a bad news for the economy," said Professor Dr Muinul Islam, former chairperson of the Department of Economics at Chittagong University.

"While the job markets in the UAE and Oman remain closed to Bangladeshi workers, Malaysia's closure adds another layer of difficulty," he added.

Dr Zahid Hussain, a former lead economist at the World Bank's Dhaka office, said while Malaysia is not as prominent a market as those in the Middle East, its closure will still disrupt Bangladesh's overseas employment sector.

Following a three-year ban on Bangladeshi worker recruitment, Malaysia signed an agreement in December 2021, paving the way for over 400,000 Bangladeshi workers to enter the country.

However, the Southeast-Asian country recently announced a freeze on foreign worker recruitment, including Bangladeshis. The application window for foreign worker visas (VDRs) issued by Malaysian representative offices abroad expired on April 21.

State Minister for the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, Shofiqur Rahman Choudhury said Malaysia will not be hiring workers from its source countries under the existing arrangement.

"Recruitment will occur through new agreements," he told The Financial Express.

The state minister said Bangladesh has requested a one-month extension from Malaysia to allow already approved workers to enter the country. Besides, they have proposed a joint working group meeting with the Malaysian government to address the current situation.

Last week, the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment issued a circular saying that under the current quota, the Malaysian government imposed an obligation to enter Malaysia by May 31, 2024, from 14 sending countries, including Bangladesh.

The state minister was unable to provide a specific date for when Malaysia might reopen its borders for foreign workers.

While the ministry cited the quota system to explain the May 31 deadline, manpower recruitment agencies alleged the closure is not due to reaching the quota but rather a result of alleged misconduct in manpower export by a group of Bangladeshi businessmen.

Manpower exporters claim that many Bangladeshi workers were sent to Malaysia without confirmed job offers, leaving them stranded. This ultimately led to the market closure once again.

However, economist Dr Zahid Hussain says Malaysia often restricts foreign worker intake due to internal policies.

He advises the authorities to lessen the dependence on this single market and explore opportunities in other countries.

A cycle of disruptions

Irregularities have plagued the Malaysian job market since Bangladesh began sending workers there. Over the past 15 years, the market has been shut down multiple times due to alleged malpractice.

In 2009, the Malaysian government closed the market after nearly 50,000 workers who arrived between 2007 and 2008 became undocumented.

Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur signed a government-to-government (G2G) agreement in 2012 to address these issues.

However, Bangladesh did not get the desired terms from employers under the G2G system. Despite this, human traffickers promised jobs to thousands of job seekers, both Rohingyas and Bangladeshis, and transported them to the Southeast-Asian nation by sea, tragically resulting in the discovery of mass graves on the Thai-Malaysia border in 2015.

Following this incident, Malaysia announced a recruiting system through private agencies in 2016. However, it is alleged that they ultimately favoured a syndicate of only 10 agencies.

In 2018, amid allegations of money laundering and corruption, Malaysia's Mahathir government suspended worker recruitment from Bangladesh.

After a three-year pause, Malaysia reopened its doors to Bangladeshi workers in 2021.

How the system failed

The latest Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Bangladesh and Malaysia mentioned recruiting workers through 25 agencies. However, the number of agencies ultimately ballooned to 100.

Mohammed Fakhrul Islam, joint secretary general of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA), blamed the market closure mainly on the malpractices of a syndicate within these agencies.

"Many workers were sent through these syndicates despite having no confirmed jobs," he said. "Malaysia's Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS) approved applications without properly verifying the employers' status. Consequently, many workers went to Malaysia after spending a lot of money, only to find no job upon arrival."

For example, if an employer submitted a demand for 200 workers, the system approved it without verification. This led to a situation where 200 workers travelled against only 10 valid jobs, said Mr Islam, also the managing partner of the Human Resource Development Center.

He estimates around 40,000 to 50,000 Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia, especially in the construction sector, are currently without jobs. Only 5-10 per cent of these workers usually file complaints with the embassy.

Tasneem Siddiqui, founding chair of the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU), said the flawed recruitment process for the Malaysian market has damaged the entire migration system.

"Those responsible must be held accountable," she said. "This issue needs to be addressed before the market can even be considered for reopening."

Human cost of a broken system

Rana Bepari, 25, is a stark example of the system's failings.

He was forced to return from Malaysia after six months, having been promised a job in a cartoon factory that never came true.

"Upon arrival, I was not given any work for a long time. I had to struggle for basic essentials like food. I had no choice but to return home," he recounted.

Rana has been back home for a month now, having spent Tk 500,000 to go to Malaysia, only to return empty-handed. "I borrowed TK 400,000 to go abroad, and now I have no idea how I will repay this."

Rana said that his story was not uncommon as many Bangladeshis were suffering in Malaysia.

Kulsum Begum's life has become a constant worry since her husband left for Malaysia. He has yet to find work and the financial strain is immense.

"Local lenders frequently visit our house demanding repayment," she said. "My husband borrowed Tk 300,000 for the migration to Malaysia."

He has been abroad for four months now, but has not been able to send any money home. "On top of that," Kulsum added, "he is struggling to manage three meals a day, and a decent roof over his head."

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