Malaysian Minister of Human Resources Datuk Seri Saravanan Murugan said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was not involved in selecting the 25 worker recruitment companies in Bangladesh.
A press statement released by the Malaysian ministry said the allegations about the prime minister are “totally false and unfounded.”
“My statement of meeting with her excellency and explaining the current affairs of the Bangladeshi foreign workers in our country is taken out of context. My meeting with Her Excellency was to narrate the current situation of foreign workers and the initiatives taken by my ministry for better working conditions,” the statement said.
The authorities in Bangladesh provided a list of 1,520 recruitment companies, of which the Malaysian Human Resources Ministry only selected 25.
The release added: “Prior to this exercise, there were only 10 companies involved in the recruitment of workers from Bangladesh. Moreover, the monopolistic nature of the 10 companies led to many workers who were lured by the promise of decent work and were subsequently left stranded by agencies from both countries.”
Therefore, to safeguard the welfare and livelihood of foreign workers, they agreed to increase from 10 to 25 companies to ensure a check and balance mechanism is implemented in the 25 designated companies.
The Human Resources Ministry will further accredit another 250 companies from the list provided by our Bangladesh counterpart, in order to prevent monopoly and abuse. These 250 companies selected are set to work within the structure of the 25 companies,reads the press statement.
“In simple terms, each of the 25 companies will be allocated 10 companies to incubate and to be part of the recruitment ecosystem especially in meeting the standards and guidelines set by the Human Resources Ministry,” says the release.
The ministry further explained the difference and systematic way the companies would operate by saying: “First of all, the Human Resources Ministry only deals with the 25 designated companies. They are monitored by the ministry closely, so to ensure International Labour Organization (ILO) guidelines relating to the welfare of the workers are adhered to, especially in terms of living and working conditions of foreign workers.”
“Malaysia is serious in tackling the issue of forced labour which is tarnishing our intemational standing. And secondly, it is the sole responsibility of the 25 to ensure the other 250 meet the strict recruitment standards and international best practices set by the Human Resources Ministry,” it added.
“Taking this opportunity, I would like to clear the misconception that the Human Resources Ministry has a preference for certain source countries. Contrary to that, the Ministry is only involved in giving approvals to our respective companies to recruit foreign workers to meet their production demands,” the statement reads.
There are 14 countries from which any companies can source their workers, not particularly only from Bangladesh. “Moreover, when I came on board, I made a decision that there will not be any direct or special approval, a rampant practice before which has created too many backlashes especially in-terms of our nation's international reputation,” it said.
Henceforth, the statement by the human resource minister, said all approvals must come from the Human Resources Ministry, following the strict process already in place.
“Though these may seem like a small step to take, it will have a positive outcome in the future,” it added.
Meanwhile, the one-stop centre for foreign workers' approval which was previously under the Home Affairs Ministry has been transferred to the Human Resources Ministry, and to date, the department has approved approximately 230,000 workers as of Wednesday.
“I would like to congratulate everyone in the Human Resources Ministry for their tireless efforts in helping our business and industry players to overcome their labour shortage predicament. And the Department further reaffirms its commitment to continuous assistance to our business community,” it reads.
It is now up to the relevant companies which have obtained their approvals to pay the levy and make the recruitment and submit the medical report to get a visa with reference to the Home Ministry to expedite the rest of the process to ensure the survivability of our enterprises, reads the statement.
