Staff Reporter :
Manpower export to Malaysia through G2G Plus scheme has been delayed again. The Cabinet on Monday sent back the draft of Memorandum of Understanding [MoU], between Bangladesh and Malaysia governments for sending Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia, at the last moment.
The draft of the MoU was placed for final approval in yesterday’s Cabinet meeting presided over by the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Secretariat. “The draft of the MoU was withdrawn as both the countries are yet to reach any understanding in this regard,” said Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam after the meeting. Officials said the draft of MoU was prepared and sent to Cabinet following the recent visit of a Malaysia delegation to Dhaka. At that time, the Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry officials informed about signing of a MoU soon after the approval of Cabinet.
At that time the visiting delegation said, Malaysia will be recruiting more manpower from Bangladesh for four private sectors initially. Echoing the same, a cheerful Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Nurul Islam had said that Malaysia was interested to take workers from Bangladesh under G2G plus process.
“We have discussed about [G2G plus] process with a delegation of Malaysia. G2G plus means if the Bangladesh government wants it can involve BAIRA [Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agency] in the recruiting process,” the Minister had said after a meeting with Secretary General of Human Resource ministry of Malaysia Datuk Seri Haji Saripuddin Bin Hajj in Dhaka.
Interestingly, the Minister Nurul Islam was not available despite repeated attempts through his cellular phone last night.
The manpower export from Bangladesh to Malaysia under a government to government or G2G system was resumed in 2013, after a 3-year suspension. As many as 8,000 workers went to Malaysia in the said three years. To make the system more effective, it was planned to involve BAIRA with the G2G process. But ultimately it did not work. Malaysia reportedly did not show interest to involve BAIRA in the manpower recruiting process. Meanwhile, the illegal migration to Malaysia still a big problem to Bangladesh government while thousands annually risk their lives voyaging through the high sea to seek low-paying work in plantations, construction sites and factories. The illegal migrants often take risky wooden boat journey to go to Malaysia, which also results death of dozens of people every year when boats carrying, mostly Bangladeshis and Rohingya Muslim refugees, keel over in the seas. Several hundred illegal migrants have been arrested by the Navy and Bangladesh Coast Guard in the last couple of months.
Several hundred, rescued by Myanmar Navy from the Bay, were also brought back to the country.
Security officials estimate that at least 25,000 Bangladeshi migrants attempt the journey to Malaysia illegally each year through the dangerous sea voyage.
“We came to know usually 30 to 40 percent of passengers on these boats were Rohingya refugees and the rest were all Bangladeshis,” Lt. Col Abuzar Al Zahid, 42nd Battalion, Border Guard Bangladesh [BGB] has said.
Bangladesh had signed an agreement with Malaysia in November 2012 in order to reduce illegal migration, and only 4,500 workers have officially migrated to Malaysia since then.
