UNB, Dhaka :
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday thanked the government of Malaysia for legalising Bangladeshis working in the Southeast Asian country and taking a decision for recruiting more workers from Bangladesh.
The Prime Minister conveyed her thanks when visiting Malaysian Human Resources affairs Minister Richard Riot Anak Jaem paid a courtesy call on her at her office (PMO).
After the meeting, Prime Minister’s Press Secretary AKM Shameem Chowdhury briefed reporters.
He said they discussed issues relating to manpower export from Bangladesh to Malaysia.
Sheikh Hasina termed Bangladeshi workers hard-working, loyal and resilient ones, and said they are contributing to the economies of both the countries.
Referring to the visit of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to Malaysia, she said the foundation of Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur ties was developed with his tour and now it has reached a new height.
She mentioned Bangladesh and Malaysia are good friends and brotherly countries, and hoped that the existing relations between the
two sides would further be strengthened in the days to come.
During the meeting, the Malaysian Minister said his country would take more manpower from Bangladesh for the development of various sectors, including infrastructure, service and manufacturing sectors alongside the plantation one.
Workers will be recruited from Bangladesh to Malaysia under government-to-government mechanism, the Malaysian Human Resources Minister said.
On Monday, Malaysian Human Resources Minister Richard Riot Anak Jaem said his country will recruit 12,000 more Bangladeshi workers for its plantation sector.
“Our cabinet has also agreed to hire Bangladeshis to work in the construction, manufacturing and service sectors,” he told reporters after a meeting with the representatives of expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment ministry at the Secretariat.
Currently, Malaysia hires Bangladeshi workers only for the plantation sector under the government to government (G2G) process. Some 6 lakh Bangladeshi nationals are currently working in several sectors of Malaysia.
The 12,000 Bangladeshis will be selected from around 2 million people who have been registered with the ministry since January last year.
In 2009, the Malaysian government had imposed a ban on recruiting workers from Bangladesh, allegedly for widespread corruption by the recruiting agencies here.
Bangladesh resumed sending workers to that country after the ban was lifted in 2012.
