Reza Mahmud :
After a long pause, Malaysian labour market is set to reopen for Bangladeshi workers.
Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul on Thursday said Bangladesh will get the highest priority in sending workers to Malaysia soon.
Sources said the decision on this issue will be finalized at a joint working committee meeting in Dhaka on May on 21.
The Adviser, who is currently visiting Malaysia, said in a video post on his verified Facebook account.
Meanwhile, leaders from Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) warned over further syndication on the market saying it will bring disaster to the important market.
Adviser Asif Nazrul said, “We have learned from different sources that Malaysia is going to recruit one lakh to 1.5 lakh foreign workers within the next couple of months. I have had talks with their Human Resources Minister, Steven Sim Chee Keong.
He assured us that Bangladesh will be given the highest priority in recruiting laborers. Maximum number of
laborers will be recruited from Bangladesh. We have received this declaration,” Dr Asif Nazrul said.
The adviser, in the post, said he had official meetings with Malaysian Minister of Home Affairs and their Human Resources Minister. “I had informal discussions with their trade minister as well.
There are some developments and that is what I am sharing with you all,” he added.
Meanwhile, BAIRA leaders emphasised a syndicate free Malaysian labour market now. They said that Kuala Lumpur urged Dhaka to withdraw cases over the irregularities in manpower exporting to the destination in the past.
They said syndicate of the market was responsible for those irregularities and our government has to strongly say it.
When contacted, BAIRA former Joint-Secretary-1, Mohammad Fakhrul Islam told The New Nation on Thursday, “There is a possibility of forming further syndicate in the market as the culprits are strongly active in both the countries.”
He said, “If this government failed to foil the attempt of forming syndicate, the agony of our workers will be increased many folds. It will be hard to political government to be strict against such syndicate.”
“Chief Adviser Professor Dr. Yunus has to take strict measures in foiling the attempt of forming syndicate in the labour market,” he said.
Referring last year’s visit of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to Bangladesh, Dr Asif Nazrul said the Malaysian premier is a personal friend of Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus and during that visit he had given assurance that he would give a chance to around 17,000 Bangladeshi workers, who failed to go to Malaysia by the May 31, 2024 deadline.
“We have had many discussions based on this.
They said that they would take those laborers on batch-wise and they have prepared a list of 7,926 workers in the first batch.
They would give them opportunity to go and work there within a very short time and they (Malaysian administration) have already started the process,” he added.
Dr Asif Nazrul also said he had requested the Malaysian Interior Minister to give Bangladeshi workers multiple entry visas.
Dr Asif Nazrul further said he requested Malaysian officials to consider taking skilled workforce like security guards, caregivers and nurses from Bangladesh and they sounded positive in reply.
He said the Malaysian officials have showed interest and the talks will continue in this regard.
“These all productive discussions were result of the personal friendship between our Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
We could do these thanks to Professor Muhammad Yunus guidance, his personal directions. Special Envoy on International Affairs to the Chief Adviser Lutfey Siddiqi also took part in the discussions and contributed a
