PORIMOL PALMA

After a meeting with Expatriates’ Welfare Minister Imran Ahmed on June 1, Malaysian Human Resources Minister M Saravanan said the migration cost for the Bangladeshis going to Malaysia under the new deal would be zero.

The deal was signed in December last year.

All costs, including airfare, levy and medical fees, will be borne by the employers, he told journalists in Dhaka.

He also said the government will cancel the quotas of Malaysian employers who collect money from workers.

“The recruitment is scheduled to start “as soon as possible” after the Malaysian cabinet approves the selection of agencies.”

This comes as good news for Bangladeshis aspiring to go to Malaysia for jobs, and more so for the government who heavily relies on remittance that makes up a significant portion of the foreign exchange.

It is also important at a time when maintaining the balance of payment has become challenging with the rise in import cost amid price hike of commodities everywhere.

Labour migration experts and recruiting agencies, however, have little faith in Saravan’s words.

They argue that the very idea that Malaysia will select the Bangladeshi recruiting agencies for sending workers there is flawed and there are elements of corruption.

The minister also has not specified any on criteria which the agency selection would be based.

According to the experts, Imran’s acceptance of Saravanan’s proposal is worrying, as the history of labour migration from Bangladesh to Malaysia was never smooth.