Titopati – Malaysia on Tuesday said government-to-government (G2G) system would bring migrant workers from Nepal.
Malaysian government’s decision to resume hiring Nepali workers comes after a hiatus of nearly three months.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said the government would soon sign the MoU with Nepal to resolve foreign workers’ issue.
Malaysiakini, a Malaysian English news portal, quoted Dr Mahathir saying, “The decision to suspend Nepali workers to Malaysia was made by Nepali government. We cannot oppose them, but we want a government-to-government agreement like Bangladesh.”
Nepal has barred its workers from travelling to Malaysia since May after it scrapped various fees imposed on its workers for security and medical examinations as part of visa requirement.
Nepal government has shut down all dubious agencies that fleeced Nepali workers. Since then Malaysia approached Nepal government to ease its ban on workers, assuring them it would come up with a new hiring system that eliminated touts.
The Malaysian government on Tuesday decided to set up a single system to hire foreign workers, similar to all the labour source countries.
“Bangladesh, Nepal and others use the same system,” Malaysian PM told a press conference after chairing a special committee meeting on foreign workers in Parliament.
The Malaysian government came under pressure after a multi-billion taka swindle that exploited thousands of workers from Bangladesh was exposed.
Similar exploitation of workers prevailed in Nepal. Unscrupulous recruiting agencies thrived in a system that compelled workers to go through several medical examinations and security clearances at high fees.
Only 10 authorised agents processed recruitment documents of Bangladeshi workers whereas dubious agents cheated Nepali workers.
A private Malaysia company Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd, outsourced by Malaysia government, required Malaysia-bound Nepali workers to apply for work visas through their Kathmandu-based associate, Malaysia VLN Nepal, which would charge Nepali workers for visa application, services of One Stop Centre (OSC), and other paper works.
Another company, again hired by the Malaysian government, Bestinet Sdn Bhd, charged Nepali workers for biometric health screening and security clearance through Nepal affiliate GSG Nepal.
The Malaysian government subsequently said it suspended Bestinet Sdn Bhd for exploiting Nepali workers.
“We will bring (the MoU) to the Cabinet for approval before visiting Nepal to do what is necessary. Nepal is interested in sending their workers (here), likewise, we are interested in accepting them” said Malaysian Human Resources M Kulasegaran. He is likely to visit Nepal soon.
