Malaysia’s Anwar Promises Bangladeshi Migrant Workers Will Be Treated Fairly

By Kamran Reza Chowdhury

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced Friday that his government would ensure that foreign workers receive proper housing and are not treated like modern-day slaves, after he met with interim Bangladesh leader Muhammad Yunus during a brief stopover in Dhaka.

Anwar, the first foreign leader to visitYunussince he became chief of Bangladesh’s interim government in early August, spent a few hours in the South Asian country – one of Malaysia’s main sources for cheap migrant labor – while heading home from an official trip to Pakistan.

The Malaysian PM promised that Kuala Lumpur would prioritize the delayed entry of 18,000Bangladeshisin the first phase of a program to increase migrant workers. He said the request came from Yunus, his friend of four decades.

“I believe, Inshallah (God willing) we will be able to do this,” he said.

At a news conference, Anwar was asked if his government would eliminate syndicates involved in recruiting Bangladeshi workers.

“The so-called agents selected must follow and adhere strictly with our policies,” he said.

The prime minister said if recruiters failed to provide adequate housing, the government would cancel contracts.

“We have discussed the whole system. And we have gone through very transparent procedures. We need workers but they can’t be treated as modern slaves, no matter if they are from Bangladesh or Indonesia or India,” he said.

“Our concern is to make sure whatever is decided must be followed through,” Anwar said.

During a speech at theU.N. General Assemblyin New York last week, Yunus talked about how 11 million people from his country were living and working overseas.

“Migration and mobility is an inescapable reality in an interconnected world,” the Nobel laureate and micro-financing pioneer said in his Sept. 27 address. “In order for migration to be beneficial for all, we have to create pathways for safe, orderly, regular, and responsible migration and mobility of people.”

Over the years, legions of Bangladeshi workers have migrated to Malaysia via legal or illicit means to take on low-paying and physically demanding jobs in construction, agriculture, and other industries.

But there is a freeze in place for taking in new batches of workers from Bangladesh.

In Kuala Lumpur, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the deadline for Bangladeshi workers to enter had passed on May 31 after Malaysia hit its foreign worker quota. Despite appeals from Bangladeshi worker groups in June, Saifuddin said there would be no extension for those with approved work visas who had missed the cut-off date.

Unable to pay

In the Malaysian state of Johor, a Bangladeshi who has been in the country for 15 months described how he had suffered because of false promises.

“My visa has already expired. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be stuck here. I have a loan in Bangladesh, and I can’t go back without paying it off,” Mahabub Molla, 42, told BenarNews.

“If I return with no money, they’ll kill me. I’m in Johor Bahru right now, but I don’t have any work. The agency promised me a construction job, but they’ve given me nothing,” he said, referring to recruiters whom he had 500,000 taka (U.S. $4,185) to travel to Malaysia for work.

“It feels awful to be lied to like this. I’m so upset, and sometimes, when I think about my family and the money I owe, I just feel like I’m losing my mind,” Molla said, adding he has had to borrow from friends and relatives to pay rent and buy food.

Labor rights activist Andy Hall said many Bangladeshis in Malaysia were stuck in limbo after paying recruiters for visa and work permits.

“For many of these workers, it’s heartbreaking. They borrowed money from their family, sold their cows, sold their land – everything just to pay the fees and make it to Malaysia. And now, they are left with nothing,” Hall told BenarNews.

More than400,000 Bangladeshiswent to Malaysia since 2022 and at least 100,000 are “jobless, unpaid, indebted,” Hall said, noting figures from the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training as reported by The Daily Star.

Shariful Hasan, head of the migration wing of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) Migration Center, praised the announced promise for more decent conditions for workers in Malaysia, but said that more issues needed to be addressed.

“This is good news that the Malaysian premier wants to ensure decent working conditions for the workers. They feel that the overseas workers must not be treated like modern-day slaves,” he told BenarNews on Friday night.

“But the decent working conditions for the workers is not the main issue involving the Bangladeshi workers’ rights and their protection in Malaysia,” Hasan said.

In his view, the most immediate concern is to get rid of the syndicates who are extorting thousands of dollars from Bangladeshis seeking work overseas.

Set fee

According to the agreement between the two countries, Hasan said, each worker was supposed to spend 79,000 Bangladesh taka ($660) to reach Malaysia.

“But one worker paid up to 600,000 taka ($5,016). The additional money goes to the corrupt syndicate based in Malaysia and Bangladesh,” Hasan said.

“We hope the Malaysian prime minister will stamp out the economic exploitation of the Bangladeshi workers,” he said.

A migrant rights activist said he wanted to see immediate action on Anwar’s promise.

“Our workers live in an inhuman condition in Malaysia. If they are given free accommodation, it will be a big stride in ensuring decent working conditions for them,” Syed Saiful Haque, chairman of the WARBE Development Foundation, a migrant-rights advocacy group, told BenarNews.

“We hope the relevant authorities in Malaysia and Bangladesh will translate the announcement of the Malaysian prime minister into action. Otherwise, it will be mere announcement,” he said.

Iman Muttaqin Yusof in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this report.