First batch of Bangladeshi workers under new MOU arrives in Malaysia

 

The first batch of Bangladeshi migrant workers recruited under the new bilateral terms signed in last December’s labour recruitment memorandum of understanding (MOU) arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) this morning.

According to travel documents sighted by Malaysiakini, the 53 workers were sent by Bangladesh Recruitment Agency (BRA) Catharsis International to work at a food processing factory in Sungai Lalang, Semenyih, Selangor.

The travel documents also stated that the workers' visas were issued on Aug 7.

In a statement, Human Resource Minister M Saravanan said the Bangladesh High Commissioner to Malaysia Md Golam Sarwar was present at the airport this morning for the workers' arrival.

"Aside from that, the Bangladesh High Commission had last week given attestation to 80 employers, involving the hiring of 6,000 workers.

"For employers who have made levy payments to the Immigration Department and intend to hire workers from Bangladesh, they can request attestation from the Bangladesh High Commission," he said.

Bangladesh daily The Business Standard yesterday quoted Bangladesh's Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training director-general Md Shahidul Alam confirming that at least 5,000 workers from 16 other recruitment agencies are also in the pipeline.

Meanwhile, National Association of Malaysian Employment Agencies (Papsma) secretary-general Sukumaran Nair told Malaysiakini that the workers' approvals came from the Home Ministry and were for applications made through the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS).

"There are two types of approvals. One is an extended approval issued by the Home Ministry up until last year, and after that, it was taken over by the Human Resources Ministry.

"They are the first batch to arrive under the Malaysia-Bangladesh MOU," he said.

Separately, Bangladesh daily Dhaka Tribune quoted a Catharsis International official who said the workers were hired under a three-year minimum wage contract, including airfare to Malaysia, accommodation and transport costs but not food.

'High recruitment costs'

Meanwhile, Bangladesh recruiters protesting alleged syndication of the labour market continued to raise concerns over high migration costs incurred by workers, citing a figure of up to RM17,000 or more than 10 times Malaysia's minimum wage.

"Earlier, we claimed that a syndicated system of recruitment would increase migration costs, as was the case in the past.

"This is exactly what has happened this time," said Tipu Sultan, president of the recruitment agency Oikko Parishad, according to The Business Standard.

Sukumaran told Malaysiakini the amount was double that set by the Bangladesh government for recruitment costs.

"Unofficially, the amount set by the Bangladesh government is RM7,000 and RM8,000. RM7,000 for the plantation sector and RM8,000 for manufacturing and other sectors.

"But these 'syndicates' are charging more, including for payment to Malaysian agents," he said.

Saravanan previously said Malaysia imposed a "zero-cost policy" for workers from all 14 sending countries.

Human Resources Minister M Saravanan

However, the minister also said the government has no means of controlling the costs incurred in the sending countries - a situation attributed to cycles of debt bondage and forced labour.

The syndication claims revolved around Malaysia's insistence to limit sending agencies to 25 main recruiters and 250 sub-agents listed on the FWCMS, which IT solutions company Bestinet Sdn Bhd operates.

Recruiment agency syndicate

Commenting on the arrivals today, Sukumaran noted that the owner of the sending agency, Catharsis International - Ruhul Amin Shwapon - had been linked by agencies in Malaysia and Bangladesh to Bestinet's founder, Mohd Amin Abdul Nor, as part of an alleged syndicate.

"Everyone knows Ruhul Amin is leading the syndicate of 25 agencies," he claimed.

Saravanan had denied allegations from labour industry players linking Bestinet and Mohd Amin to a syndicate supplying workers from Bangladesh to Malaysia.

However, Mohd Amin was previously questioned by the MACC as part of ongoing probes into alleged irregularities in the selection of the 25 Bangladesh recruitment agencies.

Meanwhile, MACC had arrested Bestinet's CEO and another top officer of the company, along with several other individuals from Malaysian recruitment agencies accused of giving and receiving bribes in return for securing migrant workers quotas.

However, Bestinet did not confirm or deny the arrests but instead released a statement expressing confidence that the company and its staff would be exonerated from any and all allegations by the MACC. - Mkini