Business Desk :
The ongoing movement calling for an end to the syndication of recruitment agencies in Malaysia has found new ground after an anonymous open letter along with a cache of leaked documents exposed the revival of a “syndicate” in the hiring of 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers and possible breaches of competition laws in both countries.
The letter, dated January 24 with no signatories, was addressed to Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yookob and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, online news portal Malaysiakini reported on Saturday.
Calling for an end to what has been described as a “massive monopoly, exploitation and manipulation” in the hiring of Bangladeshi migrant workers, the letter was attached with leaked official letters from the Malaysian Home Ministry and Human Resources Ministry, which matched original documents sighted by Malaysiakini and verified by the news portal.
The letter surfaced around the time when the Malaysian National Association of Private Employment Agencies refused to own its government’s decision on recruiting manpower from Bangladesh through syndication, comprising only 25 Bangladesh Recruitment Agencies (BRA).
According to the Malaysiakini report, the leaked documents include letters of intent and letters of acceptance issued by the Malaysian government to IT solutions provider Bestinet Sdn Bhd and manpower recruitment agency Synerflux Sdn Bhd – two companies involved in managing processes involved in recruiting migrant workers.
Other documents were applications by Malaysian employers as well as approvals of work permits.
The open letter made references to recruitments conducted prior to 2018 and upcoming arrivals under the latest five-year Malaysia- Bangladesh agreement, alleging the revival of a politically connected “syndicate” and possible breaches of competition laws in both countries, the report said.
“Like the Competition Act of Bangladesh 2012, Malaysia too has the Competition Act 2010 (Act 72) that is very much applicable in this (recruitment) matter,” the letter reads.
“Repeated statements by Human Resources Minister M Saravanan for 25 agencies that will be supported by 250 agencies is a clear violation of the Competition Act 2010,” said the letter’s anonymous authors.
“The Competition Act 2010 strictly prohibits any horizontal or vertical agreements between enterprises that significantly prevent, restrict or distort competition in any market for goods and services.”
Malaysian Human Resources Minister M Saravanan in a recent interview denied the existence of a syndicate or any monopoly in the appointment of Bangladesh recruitment agencies, contrary to concerns raised by the Bangladesh Association of International Recruitment Agencies (Baira) and migrant activists.
