We were protesting Malaysia’s ‘syndication plan’, says Bangladesh group
Some of the banners used by the group to protest M Saravanan’s plan to only allow 25 agencies in Bangladesh to send workers to Malaysia. (Shameem Ahmed Chowdhury Noman pic)
PETALING JAYA: Bangladeshi labour agencies staged a protest during human resources minister M Saravanan’s visit to Dhaka yesterday to show their opposition to his plan to allow only 25 agencies to send workers to Malaysia, the group’s spokesman said.
Former secretary-general of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira), Shameem Ahmed Chowdhury Noman, said the posters and banners clearly showed the agencies were against the “syndication plan” by Malaysia.
“Yes, it was a protest but a courteous and peaceful one. We Bangladeshis know how to treat our guests in a civil manner. We just wanted to drive home the point that limiting (recruitment) to just 25 of the 1,300 agencies is totally unfair and will lead to corrupt practices.
“The minister said they plan to recruit 200,000 workers, so why limit it to only 25 agencies? How come the 13 other countries that send workers to Malaysia don’t have such limits?
“All the other agents need to earn a living too. It’s only fair that they too are given a chance,” he told FMT.
Yesterday, FMT reported that Saravanan was met by a group of “anti-syndicate” protesters in Dhaka ahead of a Malaysia-Bangladesh joint working committee meeting on worker recruitment.
This comes after about 1,300 recruitment agencies from Bangladesh had threatened to hold a protest if the joint committee stuck to its decision to allow only 25 agencies to supply workers as requested by Malaysia.
Today, in Kuala Lumpur, Saravanan denied that the group had protested against him, saying they had actually turned up to welcome him.
Shameem said the group was reiterating its call to the Malaysian government to allow all 1,300 agencies to send workers as syndicating it would lead to the whole process being in the grip of a few individuals.
“We are glad to read reports saying the Malaysian Cabinet will decide on the number. I urge them to understand our pleas as it is good for the image of both countries,” he said.
He said an open market would ensure that the cost of recruitment would be minimised as otherwise, syndicates could control the fees at their total discretion.
PETALING JAYA: Bangladeshi labour agencies staged a protest during human resources minister M Saravanan’s visit to Dhaka yesterday to show their opposition to his plan to allow only 25 agencies to send workers to Malaysia, the group’s spokesman said.
Former secretary-general of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira), Shameem Ahmed Chowdhury Noman, said the posters and banners clearly showed the agencies were against the “syndication plan” by Malaysia.
“Yes, it was a protest but a courteous and peaceful one. We Bangladeshis know how to treat our guests in a civil manner. We just wanted to drive home the point that limiting (recruitment) to just 25 of the 1,300 agencies is totally unfair and will lead to corrupt practices.
“The minister said they plan to recruit 200,000 workers, so why limit it to only 25 agencies? How come the 13 other countries that send workers to Malaysia don’t have such limits?
“All the other agents need to earn a living too. It’s only fair that they too are given a chance,” he told FMT.
Yesterday, FMT reported that Saravanan was met by a group of “anti-syndicate” protesters in Dhaka ahead of a Malaysia-Bangladesh joint working committee meeting on worker recruitment.
This comes after about 1,300 recruitment agencies from Bangladesh had threatened to hold a protest if the joint committee stuck to its decision to allow only 25 agencies to supply workers as requested by Malaysia.
Today, in Kuala Lumpur, Saravanan denied that the group had protested against him, saying they had actually turned up to welcome him.
Shameem said the group was reiterating its call to the Malaysian government to allow all 1,300 agencies to send workers as syndicating it would lead to the whole process being in the grip of a few individuals.
“We are glad to read reports saying the Malaysian Cabinet will decide on the number. I urge them to understand our pleas as it is good for the image of both countries,” he said.
He said an open market would ensure that the cost of recruitment would be minimised as otherwise, syndicates could control the fees at their total discretion.
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