Equal treatment demanded for all recruiters for Malaysia labour mkt

Former leaders of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) on Wednesday submitted a memorandum to the offices of the Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister, State Minister and Secretary, demanding equal opportunities for all legal and eligible recruiting agencies, including the 312 agencies on the approved list.

They also called for an end to syndication and monopolistic practices, a significant reduction in migration costs, greater transparency in the recruitment process, and the opening up of all qualified medical centres.

A BAIRA delegation, led by former senior vice-president Riaz ul Islam and former joint secretary-general Mohammad Fakhrul Islam, submitted the memorandum. The delegation also held a meeting with Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary Md Mokhter Ahmed.

During the meeting, the former BAIRA leaders placed a set of specific demands concerning the reopening of Malaysia’s labour market. Their demands included providing equal opportunities to all valid and qualified recruiting agencies; eliminating syndication and monopoly; substantially reducing migration costs; ensuring full transparency in recruitment; allowing all eligible medical centres to operate; and introducing a one-stop service through the Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL).

Speaking at the meeting at the conference room of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, Secretary Mokhter Ahmed said the government was working to reopen the Malaysian labour market on a priority basis through a fully transparent process.

Meanwhile, Malaysia has detained 27 Bangladeshis, including 11 suspected of running an alleged document forgery operation targeting foreign workers, according to Malaysian media.
The arrests came during simultaneous raids on 11 premises in Kuala Lumpur’s Jalan Chan Sow Lin commercial area on Sept 14, the Malay Mail reports, citing Malaysian Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.