Dhaka, KL working to amend G2G deal

FT ONLINE

Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur (KL) have started working on amendments to the existing government to government (G2G) plus deal in recruiting workers from Bangladesh, sources said.

The Malaysian government's recent move to bring about changes in its manpower hiring policy has necessitated such amendments to the deal signed two years ago.

The two countries have started scrutinising ways to delete rules from the deal that they deem unnecessary and incorporate new ones.

Recently a joint working committee meeting held in Malaysia's Putrajaya decided to permit all eligible manpower recruiting agencies to send workers to the Southeast Asian country.

Only 10 recruiting agencies were allowed to send workers to Malaysia in the G2G plus Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed in 2016.

However, the Malaysian government has not been issuing fresh demand letter for Bangladeshi workers since September 1 this year due to alleged syndication through the online system of'Sistem Pengambilan Pekerja Asing (SPPA) under the G2G plus MoU.

A senior official at the Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry said that they have already started diplomatic correspondence to make necessary amendment to the existing deal.

The official said to check monopoly business and prevent malpractices in this sector, the Malaysian government has decided to entitle all eligible recruiters to hire manpower for the country.

"So the MoU will be changed in light of the decision," he said.

The official said the process of sending workers to the country is yet to be confirmed.

He also said it will take some time to start sending workers under the new rules as many tasks have to be completed before the system comes into effect.

Malaysian media, earlier reported that an organised syndicate of 10 recruiting agencies, led by a Bangladeshi businessman with alleged political connections with the home ministry of the Southeast Asian country, raked in at least two billion Malaysian ringgits in just two years from Bangladeshi workers.

The workers paid RM20,000 (Tk 0.4 million) each to their local agents who then paid half of the sum to the syndicate to get work permit approvals and flight tickets to Malaysia, it said.

About 0.2 million Bangladeshi workers went to Malaysia through SPPA since the signing of G-to-G plus deal.

Currently, approximately 0.9 million Bangladeshi workers are staying in the South East Asian country, sources said.