Malaysia and Bangladesh Unite to Discuss Labour Migration

Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will visit Bangladesh to discuss labour migration and various bilateral issues. This visit marks the first high-level engagement since Bangladesh's new interim government took over. Discussions aim to improve recruitment processes and labour rights protection for Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia.

Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to arrive in Bangladesh on Friday for discussions primarily centered on labour issues, Dhaka officials have confirmed. This visit signifies the first high-level engagement by a foreign leader since Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus took office following the resignation of Sheikh Hasina’s government in August.

During his visit, Prime Minister Anwar will meet with Yunus to address a wide range of issues, including economic cooperation, political relations, trade and investment, education, technology, infrastructure development, and defense collaboration, according to a Bangladeshi foreign ministry official. A key focus will be labor migration, as both nations aim to bolster their collaboration in this area.

Bangladesh serves as a significant source of labor for Malaysia, especially in construction, manufacturing, and agriculture sectors. With more than a million Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia, talks will likely tackle the challenges migrant workers face, such as wages, working conditions, and the regulation of undocumented labor, cited another official.

The talks are also expected to explore ways to streamline recruitment processes and enhance labor rights protection. The Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) has urged the leaders of Bangladesh and Malaysia to dismantle a syndicate of recruiting agencies that has dominated worker recruitment in recent years.

Since August 2022, about 450,000 Bangladeshi workers have migrated to Malaysia through a syndicate of 101 recruiting agencies from both nations, resulting in concerns over the system's transparency and fairness.

(With inputs from agencies.)