Bangladesh's Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad has reaffirmed objections to at least one proposal by Putrajaya under new worker recruitment terms expected to be inked this weekend in Kuala Lumpur.
In particular, Imran said his ministry intended to eliminate "syndicates" formed by a select list of agencies permitted to carry out the recruitment process, a practice which in the past was linked to increased costs and various irregularities.
"I’m not in favour of any syndicate. And in all that we proposed from my ministry, there is no scope for syndication.
"From our ministry, we won’t allow any scope for syndicates," Imran told reporters at his ministry in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Friday.
Malaysiakini obtained an audio recording and translation of Imran's statement, originally in Bengali.
It is understood that he was responding to concerns raised by the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) which requested equal opportunity for all of its nearly 1,600 members to be allowed to send workers to Malaysia.
MOU signing
Sources familiar with the negotiations previously revealed that Putrajaya had, through a Joint Working Group meeting earlier this year, proposed the involvement of only a select list of 25 Bangladesh Recruitment Agencies (BRA) and 250 associate BRAs.
"I know a lot of things have happened in the past. But after assuming this responsibility I’m trying to get rid of that past.
"Whether I’ll be successful or not will depend on the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signing," said Imran who also said a "much lower" recruitment cost will be determined after the agreement has been signed.
Imran was appointed minister two months after the Pakatan Harapan federal government, on Sept 1, 2018, suspended recruitment of workers from Bangladesh - at the time by 10 selected BRAs and their associates - under the Foreign Worker Application System.
On Nov 1, 2018, Bangladesh newspaper The Daily Star followed up on the suspension order, revealing how Putrajaya under BN rule had similarly selected the 10 BRAs from over 700 proposed agencies, allegedly without basis.
The suspended recruitment reportedly started on March 10, 2016, when then home minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi initiated the "Government to Government Plus" system which replaced a direct bilateral deal.
Last month, Human Resources Minister M Saravanan revealed Malaysia's concern over becoming a "dumping ground" for Bangladeshi workers, in objecting to a purported request for 2,000 of its recruitment agencies to be allowed to send workers here.
Imran is expected to arrive in Kuala Lumpur from Dhaka later today (Saturday) but details surrounding any final meeting with Saravanan and the MOU signing process has so far remained unclear.
Once signed, the new MOU will start fresh recruitments of workers from Bangladesh to fill urgent vacancies in the manufacturing, plantation and other sectors affected by border closures since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic earlier last year. - Mkini
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