THE outcome of the Bangladesh-Malaysia Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting seems to be the ultimate determinant of the fate of an estimated 25,000 Bangladeshi migrant workers who are stranded in their homeland to return to work in Malaysia.
For now, the outcome hangs in the balance pending the conclusion of the JWG meeting where a decision on the re-opening of Malaysia’s labour market for Bangladeshi workers can be expected.
According to Dhaka-based Star Digital news portal, the virtual meeting between Bangladesh’s Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad and Human Resources Minister M Saravanan yesterday (Feb 16) was postponed and due to resume today.
The Digital Star quoted Imran as saying the meeting went well and from their end, they wanted to reach to a conclusion today.
“Perhaps, they (Malaysia) have some further thoughts,” he said without elaborating on any reason behind the meeting’s postponement.
Malaysia suspended the hiring of Bangladeshi workers in September of 2018 on allegations of malpractice in the recruitment process and high recruitment costs.
On Jan 9, FocusM reported the plight of Bangladeshi workers who are stranded in their homeland, struggling to make ends meet as they are not allowed to return to Malaysia due to the pandemic.
The Bangladesh-Malaysia JWG is a follow-up from a virtual meeting between Saravanan and Imran on Oct 15 last year whereby Malaysia has voiced its preparedness to re-open its labour market to Bangladeshi migrant workers.
Back then, Saravanan was quoted by The Business Standard (citing a news release issued by the Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry) that he hoped the worker recruitment process would start once the COVID-19 situation in Malaysia improves.
Both Ministers agreed that to ensure safe migration, a list of all legal recruiting agents would be sent to Malaysia from Bangladesh for finalisation.
They also agreed that to strengthen and ensure a fair recruitment system, the whole process – starting from selection of workers from a database, to payment of service charges through banking channels – would be monitored strictly and regularly online.
Moreover, the meeting also stressed on taking the necessary steps for the return of Bangladeshi migrant workers who are currently ‘stranded’ in their home land to Malaysia due to the COVID-19 situation.
To re-cap, Bangladesh is one of the 23 countries subject to tightened entry requirements because they are categorised as high-risk countries for COVID-19.
Apart from Bangladesh, the other countries on Malaysia’s restricted list include Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Iran, Iraq, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, the UK and the US. – Feb 17, 2021
