Malaysia plans to use tycoon Amin’s new migrant worker system

 Sources say previous HR minister Steven Sim had questioned the proposal over various concerns, including handing more power to Bestinet.

The new foreign worker recruitment system is marketed as allowing companies to hire workers directly, rather than using middlemen who charge excessive fees.

KUALA LUMPUR:

 Malaysia is planning to adopt a new foreign worker recruitment system developed by Bestinet Sdn Bhd, the company founded by labour tycoon Aminul Islam, according to six people familiar with the matter.

The software is marketed as allowing companies to hire workers directly, rather than using middlemen who charge them excessive fees, the sources said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

Called the Universal Recruitment Advanced Platform, or Turap, the system will have a digital portal where employers can sign up and find employees, they said.

Human resources minister R Ramanan mentioned the new system in an interview with The Star in early February but did not say Bestinet would be operating it.

In January, Bloomberg published an investigation into endemic corruption in Malaysia’s recruitment of migrant workers from Bangladesh. The article mentioned the roles played in the recruitment process by Aminul, also known as Amin, and Bestinet.

Lui & Bhullar, a law firm representing Aminul, said he declined to comment. Aminul has denied contributing to migrant workers being charged high recruitment fees and said he has devoted his life to helping them.

Representatives for Ramanan, the Prime Minister’s Office and Bestinet did not respond to requests for comment.

Bestinet already operates a software system called the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System, or FWCMS, which Malaysia uses to manage parts of its recruitment, especially from Bangladesh.

That system consists of various modules, such as worker health checks and insurance, and also involves recruitment agents.

In an interview with Bloomberg in July, Aminul likened the system to a highway and said he was not responsible for the people who use it, referring to officials who approve bogus applications or agents who overcharge workers.

In 2024, Bangladesh’s police asked Malaysia to stop using FWCMS and for Aminul to be extradited, alleging he played a key role in a system that “fraudulently extorted” workers.

Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said in October that Malaysia’s police were in touch with their Bangladeshi counterparts. Aminul has not been extradited or charged.

Ramanan had said Malaysia hopes to adopt the new system by the middle of this year. Sources said the process is still at an early stage and needs agreement from the home ministry before being approved by the Cabinet.

Ramanan became human resources minister in a Cabinet reshuffle in December. The previous minister, Steven Sim, had questioned the proposal due to various concerns, including handing more power to Aminul and Bestinet, three of the sources said.

Representatives for Sim also did not respond to questions about the matter.

The sources said several current or former government officials have expressed reservations about using Bestinet’s system, particularly due to reluctance to give Aminul a lucrative contract and even more influence over Malaysia’s recruitment of foreign workers.

Under Aminul’s proposal, Bestinet would receive a 12-year contract allowing it to charge companies US$1,000 per foreign-worker application, plus a per-worker fee of one month’s salary, they said.

Malaysia had 2.1 million registered low-skilled foreign workers as of August, government data show. The details are still being discussed and may change, said the sources.

Three officials briefed on the matter said middlemen might continue to play a role in the countries Malaysia recruits from because it is difficult for Malaysia to control what happens there.

Some officials also pointed out that direct recruitment might be difficult for big companies looking to bring in thousands of workers, and expressed concern that eliminating licensed recruitment agents could result in more of the recruitment business moving underground, making it harder to control.

In the interview with Bloomberg in July, Aminul spoke about a new direct-recruitment system that Bestinet was developing, saying it would cut out agents and reduce recruitment costs.

He showed a presentation of the new system, which he said would make Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim a contender for the 2027 Nobel Peace Prize.

Aminul declined to say whether Anwar had seen it but said that “this is the proposal that we have done”.

“Our target, within 36 months from now, is the Nobel Prize,” Aminul said. “This is our target. And we’ll get it.” - FMT