Malaysia Lists 25 Bangladeshi Agencies to Recruit Workers

Malaysia’s Foreign Worker Centralized Management System (FWCMS) has published a list of 25 Bangladeshi recruiting agencies eligible to recruit workers for Malaysia.

The list was published Friday, but Malaysia has not yet clarified when recruitment will begin, how workers will be selected, or why these 25 agencies were chosen.

The development comes after Malaysia closed its labor market to Bangladeshi workers on May 31, 2024, following allegations of irregularities and excessive recruitment fees. Around 17,000 Bangladeshi workers who had completed the required procedures were unable to travel.

Bangladesh has submitted a list of 423 agencies that meet various Malaysian requirements. However, it remains unclear how Malaysia selected the 25 agencies from this larger list.

Bangladesh has also sought relaxation of some requirements, including having sent at least 3,000 workers abroad in the past five years, operating its own training center and maintaining a permanent office of at least 10,000 square feet.

Officials say further discussions between the two countries’ joint working group are needed to finalize recruitment procedures, worker quotas and other conditions. The existing labor agreement is also due for renewal this year.

The issue remains sensitive due to allegations surrounding the previous recruitment system. In 2022, selected agencies were accused of charging workers an average of Tk 544,000 despite an official recruitment cost of Tk 79,000.