Malaysia has reopened its labour market to Bangladeshi workers following Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s recent visit to Kuala Lumpur, although uncertainty remains over when recruitment will fully resume.

Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury said Malaysia restarted the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers from Monday, describing it as a significant outcome of the government’s diplomatic efforts to expand overseas employment opportunities.

“The Malaysian labour market has reopened for Bangladesh from July 7. We hope continued discussions will help create new employment opportunities for Bangladeshi workers in other countries as well,” the minister said.

He said the government has been engaging with various countries since assuming office to create new overseas job markets and expand existing ones, with the reopening of Malaysia’s labour market being part of those initiatives.

The announcement came a day after Malaysia’s Ministry of Human Resources issued new guidelines on July 6 for employers seeking quotas to recruit foreign workers.

Under the directive, employers recruiting workers from 13 countries, including Bangladesh, out of the 15 government-approved source countries, must submit quota applications entirely online through the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS).

However, officials at Malaysia’s Ministry of Human Resources said that while there is a policy decision to resume recruitment from Bangladesh, the necessary procedures have yet to be fully completed.

Officials at the Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur also said Malaysia is still reviewing the issue of recruiting Bangladeshi workers. They added that a final decision is expected to be made at a meeting of the Joint Working Group between the two countries.

Labour market experts, meanwhile, cautioned that reopening the market alone would not resolve longstanding concerns surrounding the recruitment process.

They noted that allegations of recruitment syndicates, monopolistic practices, human trafficking and money laundering have plagued the Bangladesh-Malaysia labour migration system for years. Without addressing those structural problems, they said, the labour market is unlikely to function normally.

The experts also stressed the need to resolve issues related to job offer verification, allegations of irregularities involving some officials at the Bangladesh High Commission, medical centre accreditation, and the protection of workers’ wages, accommodation and overall welfare.

They further urged the government to consider the interests and investments of legitimate recruiting agencies, saying that a transparent, accountable and cost-effective recruitment system would make Malaysia’s labour market more sustainable and beneficial for Bangladesh in the long run.