Eighteen months after the reopening of Malaysian labour market, Bangladeshi workers have started going to the southeast Asian country at free of cost.
All expenses of outbound workers from their passport to air ticket will be borne by the employer company of Malaysia, while their expenditure for immigration, visa, medical test, treatment, insurance and accommodation after reaching the destination country will also be carried out by employers.
Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad said the Malaysian government has interest in taking Bangladeshi workers at low cost or free of cost.
“Malaysia is committed to hire 10,000 workers from Bangladesh without any charge. The country has showed its interest in this regard when it signed the new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bangladesh,” the minister said.
Malaysia signed the latest MoU to recruit Bangladeshi workers on December 19, 2021, which will remain valid till December 2026, reports Daily Sun.
According to the government’s decision, a Malaysia-bound Bangladeshi worker will have to pay Tk 79,990 to go to the Southeast Asian country, but allegations are rife that recruiting agencies take Tk 3,50,000 to Tk 5,00,000 to send a worker to Malaysia.
The first batch of 20 Bangladeshi workers, selected by JG Alfalah Management Ltd for the cost-free migration, was scheduled to fly from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka through a Malindo Air flight at 11:00pm on Monday.
The workers will be received by officials of the employer company Instyle Sofa Sdn Bhd, a reputed Malaysian furniture company, at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
