Syndicate active again 

As Malaysia prepares to reopen applications for foreign worker quotas in selected sectors and subsectors, a group of local and foreign intermediaries is allegedly seeking to form a new syndicate involving only 25 recruiting agencies, according to recruiters.

They alleged that each agency could be asked to pay Tk 17 crore, or around RM5 million, to join the proposed syndicate. If implemented, the arrangement could shut nearly all of the country’s around 2,000 licensed recruiting agencies out of the Malaysian market, they warned.

The allegations were raised at a press conference at a Dhaka hotel on Wednesday, organised under the banner of members of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA). Former BAIRA Senior Vice President Md Reaz Ul Islam presided over the event, while former Joint Secretary General Fakhrul Islam presented the keynote paper.

Former Joint Secretaries General Akbar Hossain Manju and M.A. Salam and recruiting agency owner Altaf Hossain also spoke.

The recruiters demanded immediate reopening of the Malaysian labour market through a transparent, low-cost and syndicate-free process that ensures equal opportunities for all qualified agencies.

Fakhrul Islam alleged that individuals linked to previous syndicates, including Ruhul Amin Swapan and Dato Seri Aminul Islam Bin Abdun Noor, were attempting to influence the recruitment process through the proposed arrangement.

He claimed Tk 17 crore was being sought from each agency seeking to join the proposed 25-member group. Based on this figure, he alleged that Tk 425 crore could be laundered through hundi.

The recruiters warned that a repeat of restricted recruitment models could once again drive up migration costs and encourage middlemen, irregularities and illicit financial transactions.

They recalled that Malaysia initially allowed the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers through only 10 agencies in 2016 before suspending the market in 2018. The market reopened in 2022 with 25 agencies and was later expanded to 101.

Malaysia again stopped receiving Bangladeshi workers in 2024 amid allegations of irregularities and excessive migration costs. The previous recruitment system also drew concerns from the International Labour Organization (ILO) and International Organization for Migration (IOM), they said.

The government has since cancelled the licences of 49 recruiting agencies over alleged irregularities.

The recruiters also questioned the selection of 423 agencies under 10 criteria reportedly set during the interim government. They said 260 agencies met seven criteria and 163 met six, and questioned why the relaxed criteria were not formally disclosed and why nearly 2,000 legally operating agencies were not given an equal opportunity to apply.

They expressed concern over reports that the new system could again be restricted to 25 agencies, with allegations of a RM5 million entry payment and a possible RM5,000 syndicate charge for each worker.

They demanded an impartial investigation into the allegations.

If Malaysia insists on limiting the number of recruiting agencies, the recruiters proposed that Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL), the state-owned recruiting agency, operate as a One Stop Service Centre. Under the proposed system, all licensed agencies could process workers through BOESL as sub-agents or under its supervision, allowing the government to monitor the entire recruitment process.

They also called for amendments to the Bangladesh-Malaysia recruitment mechanism, particularly provisions allowing Malaysian authorities to select Bangladeshi recruiting agencies.