Bangladesh PM asks Malaysia to reopen labour market to Bangladeshi workers

Bangladesh’s prime minister Tarique Rahman (left) shakes hands with his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim during a welcome ceremony in Putrajaya. (EPA Images pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said on Monday he had asked his Malaysian counterpart to consider reopening the labour market to Bangladeshi migrant workers, as the leaders expressed concerns over long-standing issues of foreign worker exploitation.

Malaysia has been a key destination for Bangladeshi migrant workers, whose remittances are a crucial source of foreign exchange for the South Asian nation.

However, Kuala Lumpur has restricted the hiring of workers from Bangladesh since 2024 amid reports of debt bondage and forced labour, with workers incurring substantial debts to secure employment in Malaysia.

Hundreds of workers were left stranded in 2023, after arriving in Malaysia only to find that jobs promised to them by recruitment agents did not exist, leaving them forced to seek work illegally and exposing them to detention and deportation risks.

“I also raised issues relating to regularisation of illegal workers and repatriation of the detained Bangladeshis if possible,” Rahman told reporters during a visit to Malaysia where he met Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar said both countries agreed to take measures to ensure transparency in the recruitment of workers and protect their welfare.

“This continued use of workers being exploited, ill-treated… solely for personal company gains cannot be tolerated,” he said.

Anwar and Rahman also witnessed the exchange of several agreements, including collaborations on investment promotion, cultural cooperation and counterterrorism, and the two countries also pledged to move forward with negotiations on a free trade agreement.

Rahman is on his first overseas trip since taking office, as Bangladesh looks to attract investment, boost overseas employment and strengthen ties with Asian partners.

He is due to travel to China next for a three-day visit at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang.