After almost a year of suspension of recruitment in the Malaysian labour market, Bangladesh is currently in bilateral discussions to resume the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers. Recently, Malaysia announced that it will resume the process of recruiting workers from the source countries. On May 13, 2025, a delegation led by the adviser of the ministry of expatriates鈥� welfare and overseas employment from Bangladesh visited Malaysia, and bilateral meetings were held with the relevant ministers of the Malaysian ministry of human resources and home affairs. In the following week, the Malaysia-Bangladesh Joint Working Group meeting was held in Dhaka.
According to media sources, the issues that have dominated the discussion include determining the process of recruiting Bangladeshi workers once the labour market is reopened. The critical question is whether a syndicate of a few recruiting agencies will secure the job or if all recruiting agencies in Bangladesh will have the opportunity to send workers. This is the most contentious issue in the labour market. Secondly, taking effective steps to send the Bangladeshi workers who were unable to migrate to Malaysia due to the closure of the labour market in the last year.
In addition, another important issue that may dominate the discussion is the contents of a letter dated April 23 from the secretary-general of the Ministry of Human Resources of Malaysia to Bangladesh, which was published in the international media as quoted by Bloomberg News. In the letter, the Malaysian government has called on Bangladesh to review and withdraw 鈥榰nsubstantiated allegations鈥� of injustice in labour migration between the two countries to improve Malaysia鈥檚 rating in the annual US report on human trafficking.
Under the memorandum of understanding signed between the Malaysian and Bangladesh governments in 2021, about 400,000 workers from Bangladesh migrated to Malaysia from 2022 to 2024. According to the conditions imposed by the Malaysian ministry of human resources, some selected recruiting agencies from Bangladesh were allowed to send people. The recruiting agencies that were allowed to send workers were reportedly enlisted through huge transactions, according to media reports. On average, a migrant was charged around Tk 500,000 ($4500). There were allegations that despite paying thousands of dollars, a section of workers did not get the promised jobs in Malaysia and were left with massive debts and faced various forms of precarity in their lives in Malaysia.
This was also strongly criticised by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. In addition, due to the fixed deadline for entering Malaysia on calling visas, about 17,000 Bangladeshis were unable to enter Malaysia at that time, even though they had visas and air tickets in order. The deadline for entry in Malaysia calling visas was May 31, 2024. As a result, most of the workers were unable to go abroad even after paying the full or most of the expenses and were forced to face a distressing situation due to the debt they incurred. All of these indicate a lack of governance in migration management.
Therefore, the current discussions on the reopening of the labour market and the fixation of the recruitment system between the two countries are very important. It must be kept in mind here that the syndicate system should not be applied again. This can lead to the same situation of high recruitment costs, lack of proper work for migrants and debt-ridden conditions. A major complaint raised by many recruitment agencies is that an additional 150,000 taka is being charged to workers for immigration processing through the syndicated system. This money is being taken away by the main leaders of the syndicates, which is unfair and unjustified. Therefore, the government must come out of the syndicate system and ensure greater transparency and accountability in the migration process or provide all agencies with the right to send people, which the Malaysian government also gives in the case of other source countries.
Secondly, pressuring the source country to withdraw complaints by declaring human trafficking and money laundering allegations unfounded or not prosecuting them is fundamentally unfair. It will only help to perpetuate the problem rather than provide a remedy.
It is worth noting that Malaysia鈥檚 rating in the US Trafficking in Persons report does not depend solely on Bangladesh withdrawing the allegations. The UN Human Rights Commission has already reported and expressed concerns about the inhumane conditions of workers. Several companies have not been able to arrange employment for workers, and many workers are starving and living in semi-starvation due to a lack of work or unpaid salary, which is being reported in the international media from time to time.
The high cost of labour migration burdens workers with debt and exposes them to abuse after going abroad. Human rights activists have documented cases of abuse and even debt bondage of many Bangladeshi and other migrant workers. This again points to the complexity and futility of the recruitment system described in the first point. The system that has been created to protect the interests of middlemen needs immediate change because the cost of migration has doubled in the last 10 years due to the syndicate.
These incidents have affected Malaysia鈥檚 record on human trafficking. For most of the past decade, the United States has said that Malaysia is failing to meet minimum standards under the US Trafficking in Persons Victim Protection Act. At least eight times in the past 10 years, the United States has said that Malaysia is either not taking appropriate steps or that the steps taken are not sufficient to address the problem.
The ongoing talks between Bangladesh and Malaysia, which are not addressing the allegations of human trafficking and money laundering in the immigration process, instead of pressuring Bangladesh to withdraw the allegations, will only further question Malaysia鈥檚 standing internationally and will further condone the wrongdoings committed, and workers will have to suffer the same fate again.
Last year, in the wake of mismanagement of worker dispatch or irregularities related to labour migration, the Bangladesh police and the Anti-Corruption Commission launched an investigation into the recruitment process. And a complaint was filed under the Human Trafficking Act against the immigration syndicate. In October 2024, the Bangladesh police asked the Malaysian government to arrest and extradite two migrant businessmen accused of smuggling migrant workers, money laundering and embezzlement. Bangladesh鈥檚 Anti-Corruption Commission is also investigating several recruitment agency owners and former members of parliament accused of corruption in the name of sending workers to Malaysia.
In this situation, even if Bangladesh has to withdraw the allegations related to human trafficking, money laundering and embezzlement under pressure from Malaysia, it must ensure that the cases that are ongoing in Bangladesh鈥檚 domestic legal process are properly investigated and the accused are tried. This will ensure transparency and accountability in the migration process. The aggrieved workers have the right to justice, and necessary measures must be taken against this vicious circle by taking into account the migrants鈥� complaints.
Third, the issue of workers who could not go to Malaysia despite having valid documents or visas due to the closure of the labour market in Malaysia on May 31, 2024, should be urgently resolved. Many diplomatic efforts have been made regarding the workers who could not go to Malaysia over the past year. During his visit to Bangladesh, Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim assured that he would arrange work in Malaysia for those who could not go despite having calling visas, and it was reported from Malaysia that the number of such workers who could not go despite having valid calling visas is approximately 11,000. Anwar Ibrahim has repeatedly stated that steps are being taken to take them back. Although the adviser in charge of the Ministry of Expatriates鈥� Welfare and Overseas Employment recently said that initially Malaysia will provide work opportunities for about 8,000 workers (who could not go last time). But so far, no visible initiative has been observed. But according to recruiting agency owners and media sources, this number is much higher. Therefore, it is important to determine the real number and what decisions will be taken regarding others who have fallen into the same situation. It is also important to take urgent steps to provide them with employment opportunities or rehabilitation support.
Migrants鈥� remittances are one of the main sources of our foreign income. Ensuring that they can migrate with dignity and that they can find decent work in their destination country is an important task and should be a priority for the Bangladesh government. Otherwise, this important sector of our overseas employment and foreign income will be affected.
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Mohammad Rashed Alam Bhuiyan, an associate professor of political science at the University of Dhaka, is a PhD candidate at Coventry University, UK. He is also an adjunct research fellow at Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit.
