NGO slams move to resume recruitment of Bangladeshi workers

The Tenaganita, an advocacy association, has criticised the Malaysian government for its decision to restart recruiting migrants from Bangladesh after thousands of foreign workers already present in the country were left without work, housing and legal protection, trapped in a corrupt system of exploitation, this according to the NGO’s director, Glorene A Das.

Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews) – Migrant rights group Tenaganita has strongly criticised the government’s decision to resume the recruitment of workers from Bangladesh, warning that such a move risks compounding what it describes as a deepening humanitarian crisis rooted in systemic failure and state-enabled exploitation.

In a sharply worded statement, Tenaganita executive director Glorene A Das said the government should not proceed with fresh recruitment until it addresses the unresolved plight of thousands of Bangladeshi workers already brought into Malaysia legally – many of whom are now jobless, homeless, and drowning in debt after being lured in by false promises of employment.

“Restarting recruitment without addressing the ongoing injustices will only perpetuate the suffering of these workers and reflect a gross disregard for human dignity,” Glorene said.

The government had suspended the intake of Bangladeshi workers in May 2024 following revelations of widespread labour trafficking and scam-linked recruitment. Its recent decision to lift the suspension, however, has reignited fears that authorities are prioritising supply over accountability – without fixing what Glorene describes as a broken and exploitative system at its core.

According to her, Malaysia brought in nearly half a million migrant workers through legal channels between January 2022 and September 2024, including over 351,000 from Bangladesh.

However, a large number of these workers arrived to find that the promised jobs simply did not exist. Some had paid as much as RM25,000 (US$ 5,800) in recruitment fees, often by taking on crippling debts, only to be abandoned upon arrival.

“They were lured with false assurances and left unpaid, undocumented through no fault of their own, and at constant risk of arrest. The government cannot wash its hands of this gross injustice by pointing fingers at so-called rogue recruitment agencies,” she added.

“These workers could not have entered the country without the active involvement and approval of various government agencies. It’s time those in power take full responsibility.”

Glorene also revealed that Tenaganita’s investigations had found at least 150 companies granted quotas for foreign workers despite having no legitimate business operations or actual capacity to hire migrant labour.

This, she said, points to a system riddled with corruption, negligence, and profiteering – one that continues to prey on the desperation of vulnerable workers.

Despite the scale of the problem, Glorene said the government appears to be turning a blind eye to the crisis, choosing instead to resume large-scale recruitment without any sign of genuine reform.

“What is needed now is not more foreign workers, but a serious commitment to fixing the broken system,” she said.

She stressed that these individuals are not irregular migrants, but documented workers who have been failed by a deeply flawed and opaque recruitment process – one that continues to profit from their suffering while denying them even the most basic of rights.

“As we have consistently said, Malaysia does not need more migrant workers when there are already thousands here who are able and willing to contribute — if only they are given the chance.”

• malaysia
• bangladesh
• migrants
• fraud
• exploitation
• corruption