Tag - bangladesh worker supply malaysia

Bangladesh MoU Still Valid

The suspension of the recruitment of Bangladesh foreign workers does not affect the validity of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Putrajaya and Dhaka. Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jaem said that the MoU signed with the Bangladesh government was still official.

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He added that further details on the decision to freeze foreign worker­ recruitment were to be announced by the Federal Govern­ment.

“I welcome the statement of the Deputy Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi) as it is a positive statement.

“It clearly reflects the (Human Resources) Ministry’s priority in providing employment opportunities for local workers,” Riot said in a statement.

On Thursday, a MoU was signed between Putrajaya and Dhaka to allow male and female Bangladeshi workers to be brought into the service, construction, farming, plantation and manufacturing sectors.

The next day, Dr Ahmad Zahid announced that the Government had suspended the recruitment of all foreign workers, including those from Bangladesh, pending a review of the levy and rehiring programme.

In Kuching, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi chided former go­vernment leaders who accused the Government of policy flip-flop.

“The Government reversed certain policies because it is sensitive to the people’s calls.

“The same former leaders had acted similarly for the people when they were in the Government,” he said.

“Now that they are no longer in power or holding any position, they are accusing the Government of flip-flop.”

Speaking at an Excellence Award Presentation ceremony for the Home Ministry workforce at a hotel here yesterday, he referred to the critics as gila talak(meddlers).

“He thinks he is the cleverest, the best, the most excellent.

“His time is over, please respect the ruling Government,” said Dr Ahmad Zahid, adding he was not specifically referring to any individual.

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had yesterday said the flip-flop in policy caused uncertainties among the people.

“We see flip-flop happening all the time. They introduce the policy, they reverse the policy and then they re-introduce it again, in all things, including the automotive sector.

“I think there is some confusion about what you have to do, which has forced them to reverse every time,” he said in a press conference after launching the Let’s Read The Quran 2016 campaign here yesterday.

Meanwhile, SME Association of Malaysia president Michael Kang urged the Government to release details and guidance for the SME on the proper solutions and policies to follow.

“After collecting the levies, a certain amount of money should be allocated to the SME to upscale our own local staff, so we can gradually reduce our dependency on foreign workers,” said Kang.

The SME Association works closely with the Human Resource Development Fund, aiming to provide training to local staff in terms of automated machinery training and guidance to improve workflow efficiency and productivity.

News Source: The Star

Not All 1.5 million Bangladeshi Workers Coming Here, Says Human Resource Minister

Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot today denied that 1.5 million Bangladeshis would be brought to Malaysia, saying instead that the figure was merely the number of workers registered with the authorities there to be sent to different countries.

He told a press conference today that there were 139 countries, including Malaysia, to which the Bangladesh government would supply labour.

“The 1.5 million is the number of workers registered with the Bangladesh government through the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment to be sent to 139 countries, including Malaysia.

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Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot says Bangladesh is sending 1.5 million workers to 139 countries, not just Malaysia. – The Malaysian Insider

“The perception that 1.5 million workers will be brought from Bangladesh to Malaysia is not true,” he said.
Richard signed on behalf of Malaysia a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Dhaka yesterday on the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers.

Previous statements by Malaysian officials have said that the 1.5 million workers would be brought to Malaysia in stages over three years.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, however, earlier this month said that the figure was of Bangladesh citizens registered with their government for employment, according to a report in The Sun Daily, and new workers would only be brought in based on supply and demand.

Richard today said there was no fixed number of Bangladeshi workers to be recruited to Malaysia and it would depend on the needs of local employers.

“It will be based on requests by industries. The 1.5 million figure is not accurate.

“However, our priority will still be to give jobs to locals. That is most important.”

The MoU which he signed yesterday also did not state a specific figure, and the matter would also be reviewed after five years.

Application procedures to bring in Bangladeshi workers would have to be done online, the minister said, adding that so far, no company has filed any application.

Putrajaya was also working to improve screening processes for foreign workers for health and criminal records.

Richard declined to comment on a request by the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) that Putrajaya conduct a Royal Commission of Inquiry on foreign workers, saying such inquiries were a matter for the prime minister to decide.

News Source: The Malaysia Insider