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Bangladesh is expected to resume sending workers to Malaysia by September, State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shah Alam has said.
Malaysia will recruit 200,000 Bangladeshi workers, with the process expected to be completed within six months, he said.
The state minister made the remarks after a meeting between Local Government Minister Abdul Moin Khan and Malaysian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Mohammad Shuhada Osman at the Secretariat on Sunday.
“The recruitment of workers from Bangladesh will begin gradually by the end of September and will be completed within the next six months,” Mir Shah Alam said, quoting the Malaysian envoy.
Asked about the number of workers, he said a total of 200,000 workers would be recruited through Malaysian-approved companies.
Malaysia will also recruit another 10,000 Bangladeshi workers free of charge, the state minister said.
There are currently around 800,000 registered Bangladeshis in Malaysia, he said, adding that efforts are also underway to send more workers and register undocumented Bangladeshi workers already living in the country.
Malaysia closed its labour market to Bangladeshi workers on May 31, 2024, amid allegations of irregularities, including syndication in the recruitment process.
Discussions have recently resumed on reopening the market. Meanwhile, Malaysia has approved 338 Bangladeshi recruiting agencies to facilitate worker deployment.
According to the Local Government Ministry, Abdul Moin Khan expressed the government’s interest in taking bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Malaysia to a higher level.
The meeting discussed expanding cooperation in manpower recruitment, renewable energy, infrastructure, education, healthcare and trade.
Other issues included the registration of undocumented Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia, employment opportunities for Bangladeshi engineers, construction of hospitals through joint ventures, increased opportunities for Bangladeshi students to pursue higher education in Malaysia, investment in renewable energy and cooperation in sports-goods manufacturing.
The two sides also discussed strengthening economic ties in areas including electric vehicle imports, construction and halal food.
Local Government Division Secretary Shahidul Hasan was also present at the meeting.
