Both the countries have mutually agreed to revive the market which has been in suspension for Bangladeshi workers since September 2017 and also discussed the other issues affecting foreign workers in Malaysia’

State Minister for Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Imran Ahmad on Tuesday said that the labour market in Malaysia will soon open for Bangladeshi workers.

He said this at a meeting with Malaysian Home Affairs Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Human Resources Minister M Kulasegaran in Kuala Lumpur, said a press release of the ministry.

The both parties agreed in principle to reopen the Malaysian labour market shortly.

M Kulasegaran told Imran Ahmad that their government is positive about the issue and it will be placed before the cabinet very soon.

The Malaysian government proposed holding a meeting of the joint working group between Bangladesh and Malaysia on May 30-31.

Besides, the meeting emphasized on resolving various issues faced by workers, including harassment and repression of irregular workers in Malaysia.

Malaysian job market for Bangladesh

Malaysia first opened its door to Bangladeshi migrant workers in 1992. However, they suspended recruitment in 1997, 2009 and recently in 2018, following allegations of malpractice and labour exploitation.

Also, hundreds of undocumented Bangladeshi workers have been detained in Malaysia as part of the country’s crackdown against illegal migrants since July 1 last year.

According to data from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), over 1,056,608 Bangladeshi workers have travelled to Malaysia with immigration clearance between 1978 and April 2019.

Among them, only 97 travelled to Malaysia in the first four months and the number rose to 175,927 in 2018.