THE Malaysian Government wants ‘syndication’ in manpower export from Bangladesh, bypassing the memorandum of understanding (MOU) the two countries signed last month to ensure open competition and transparency with lower migration costs.
Malaysian Human Resource (HR) Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan had in a letter on Jan 14 urged his Bangladeshi counterpart, Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad, to initiate the process of sending workers to Malaysia through 25 Bangladesh recruitment agencies.
Manpower exporters said the move is contrary to the spirit of negotiations reached between the two countries on manpower export to Malaysia which will result in obvious syndication and image crisis for the nation.
Despite repeated cautions from the Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry, the syndicate comprising some officials and a few agencies is still active, according to M. Tipu Sultan who is president of the Recruiting Agencies Oikya Parishad.
Business leaders in Oikya Parishad alleged that a vested corrupt group in the Malaysian Government had been in favour of syndication in Bangladesh to get equally benefitted.
Recruiting agency owners demanded keeping the labour market open for all the valid recruiting agents to ensure fair competition.
Allegation of corruption
A number of recruiting agents said Nepal, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Indonesia are among other countries that send workers in Malaysia through open competition among their recruiting agencies.
Indonesia has more than 1,000 recruiting agencies while Nepal has 884 to send manpower to Malaysia.
There exists no priority list of recruiting firms for either country. Experts believe Malaysia’s insistence for a smaller group of recruiting agencies in Bangladesh is mysterious, only indicating corruption in the entire process to benefit an influential quarter in Malaysia’s HR Ministry.
Sending workers through a small number of firms will demean the Bangladeshi Government’s efforts and objectives of keeping the migration costs lower.
The arrangement to send workers to Malaysia from Bangladesh through only 10 recruiting firms from 2017 to 2018 was a disaster.
Any repetition of syndication would be a double whammy for both the Bangladesh Government and the economy.
As Bangladesh has nearly 2,000 valid manpower exporters, letting only 25 of them for the business will create only chaos and enhance migration-related costs.
Sources at the Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry said they stood firm for open competition and against any sort of syndication in manpower export to Malaysia.
“We responded to the letter of Saravanan upholding the spirit for open competition as such term is included in the MOU,” a top official at the ministry told The Business Post.
He said the provision of chapters C (v) and C (vi) of Appendix B of the MOU mentions open competition.
According to the provision, the Malaysian Government shall select Bangladeshi recruitment agencies automatically through an online system from the list provided by the Bangladesh Government while the Malaysian Government shall ensure transparency and fairness in the selection and distribution of quota.
No syndicate, please
On Jan 14, Minister Imran responded to Saravanan’s letter by reiterating open competition from Bangladesh.
“I want to reiterate that Bangladesh is always in favour of transparent, fair and safe migration,” read Imran’s letter.
“As per relevant charters of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), our Competition Act 2012 keeps the opportunities open to all the valid licensed Bangladeshi recruiting agencies as mentioned in Chapter C (v) and C (vi) of Appendix B of the MOU.
“According to the provision, the Malaysian Government shall select BRA automatically through the online system from the list provided by the Bangladeshi Government and the Malaysian Government shall ensure transparency and fairness in the selection and distribution of quota.”
Bangladesh and Malaysia signed the MOU on Dec 19 last year.
Manpower experts and rights activists are also against syndication while the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) urged the Bangladeshi Government not to allow any syndication.
WARBE Development Foundation chairman Syed Saiful Haque said if the Bangladeshi Government failed to break the syndication, the market might be lost again.
“Migration cost will increase when a competitive market is missing in sending manpower from Bangladesh to Malaysia,” he told The Business Post.
Immediate past president of BAIRA Benjir Ahmed said all its members should have opportunities to send workers. A vested group is plotting to damage the labour market with fake and confusing information.
“No syndicate should be formed in this regard,” he added.
Earlier, the Malaysian Government said Bangladeshi workers are to be recruited in sectors such as plantations, agriculture, manufacturing, services, mining and quarrying, construction, and domestic work.
Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training officials said over 1.05 million Bangladeshi workers are now living in Malaysia.
Data from the Bureau of Statistics show 273,201 Bangladeshis were recruited by Malaysian employers in 2007.
In September 2018, when Malaysia suspended recruitment, 275,927 Bangladeshis had migrated there in the previous nine months. – Jan 21, 2022
The above article is based on an article bearing the same title which appeared on The Business Post Bangladesh on Jan 20, 2022.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
