[🇧🇩] Evolving partnership between Bangladesh and Malaysia

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/diplomacy/news/malaysia-pm-may-visit-bangladesh-couple-months-3677721

Malaysia PM may visit Bangladesh in a couple of months

File photo

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim may visit Bangladesh soon at the invitation of Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus.

"The Malaysian prime minister expressed his willingness to visit Bangladesh during the phone call. We may see him coming to Dhaka in a month or two," a foreign ministry official told this correspondent.

"Prof Yunus has invited me to undertake a short visit to Bangladesh as soon as possible to further strengthen the brotherly relationship between the two countries," Anwar Ibrahim posted on X following the phone call on Tuesday evening.

He also congratulated his "old friend" Prof Yunus on his appointment as the chief advisor to the interim government of Bangladesh.

"Prof Yunus has long-standing good ties with Malaysia. Thus, I assured him that Malaysia stands ready to help and support the interim government in rebuilding and restoring peace and security in Bangladesh," Ibrahim added.

He also said Prof Yunus has given him assurances that he will protect the rights of all Bangladeshis including minorities.

Bangladesh and Malaysia have a bilateral trade of $2.7 billion. Of the amount, Bangladesh exports goods worth some $370 million to Malaysia.

Also, about eight lakh Bangladeshis are working in Malaysia.

During the phone call, Prof Yunus also hoped that more Bangladeshis would get scope to work in the Southeast Asian country.​

 

[Saif]

Bangladesh-Malaysia labour route rife with corruption: Bloomberg report

Investigation finds cartelised recruitment and political links driving migrant exploitation

www.thedailystar.net

Bangladesh-Malaysia labour route rife with corruption: Bloomberg report

Investigation finds cartelised recruitment and political links driving migrant exploitation

By Star Online Report

Representational image of Bangladeshi migrant workers. File Photo: Reuters

Endemic corruption in the Bangladesh-Malaysia migrant worker recruitment system has enriched politically connected businesses while trapping workers in cycles of debt, exploitation and forced labour, according to a Bloomberg investigative report published on January 23.

The report, titled “Everyone gets a cut, and migrant workers pay the price,” is based on months-long investigations and interviews with more than 100 people, including current and former government officials, labour analysts, recruitment agents and Bangladeshi migrants.

It describes a recruitment process designed to extract maximum fees from workers, often on the promise of jobs that do not exist.

Bloomberg opens its report with the case of Shofiqul Islam, a Bangladeshi migrant who borrowed $4,400 to secure a construction job in Malaysia.

Instead of employment, he was left stranded in a dilapidated building outside Kuala Lumpur after his employer disappeared. His visa expired, his debt accumulated interest daily and he remained jobless.

In February 2024, Shofiqul died after suffering convulsions in his dormitory.

Former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Latheefa Koya said Shofiqul “clearly is a victim of human trafficking,” describing his death as an extreme consequence of institutional corruption in Malaysia’s migrant recruitment system.

Over the past decade, more than 800,000 Bangladeshis have migrated to Malaysia, often paying significantly higher recruitment fees than workers from other countries, Bloomberg reported.

The investigation found that recruitment fees have contributed to debt bondage, forced labour and, in some cases, human trafficking.

“This involves so many layers of people,” said Mahathir Mohamad, former Malaysian prime minister who sought to reform the system.

Bloomberg reported that figures within Malaysia’s ruling elite were aware of the systemic abuses but failed to address them because recruitment fees benefited all parties involved.

A representative for Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim referred Bloomberg to the Ministry of Home Affairs, which did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Bangladesh’s government also did not respond, Bloomberg says.

The report traces the system’s evolution to Aminul Islam, commonly known as Amin, a Malaysian businessman of Bangladeshi origin and founder of Bestinet, a company that digitised Malaysia’s recruitment process.

Amin has denied responsibility for abuses, saying he devoted his career to helping migrant workers and had “never heard of syndicate fees.”

Malaysia adopted Bestinet’s system in 2015, when the then-home affairs minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced plans to recruit up to 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers.

Recruitment was restricted to 10 Bangladeshi agencies, a move former officials described as unprecedented. Zahid has denied involvement, and Amin said Malaysia selected the agencies.

According to Bloomberg, these agencies later charged workers an additional “syndicate fee” of around $1,350, pushing total recruitment costs to as much as $6,600 per worker. The fees are disputed, and several agencies denied collecting unlawful payments.

Bloomberg found no evidence that the money went to Amin.

Bangladesh police arrested dozens of recruitment agents in 2024 over alleged money laundering, extortion and trafficking.

Interpol Bangladesh branch accused key figures of “fraudulently extorting money” that caused workers “physical and mental torture.” Amin denied the allegations and has not been extradited.

Despite discussions within Malaysia’s cabinet to cut ties with Bestinet after Anwar took office in 2022, Bloomberg reported that the company’s contract was extended in early 2024.

Meanwhile, Shofiqul’s widow received only a partial refund of his recruitment fee and remains burdened by debt, Bloomberg reported.​