Malaysia has effectively halted new recruitment of workers from Nepal
Malaysia has effectively halted new recruitment of workers from Nepal due to a dispute over the recruitment agencies authorized to send people for employment. Malaysia selected 25 Nepali agencies as lead agencies, a move opposed by the Nepalese government, The Kathmandu Post reports.
On August 21, Malaysia’s Ministry of Human Resources approved a limited number of recruitment agencies from ten labor-supplying countries. For Nepal, 25 agencies registered in the Foreign Workers Centralized Management System (FWCMS) were selected.
Under the new model, recruitment procedures and technical access to the system must be handled through approved lead agencies. At the same time, each of them may cooperate with no more than ten affiliated agencies, which Nepal has the right to select independently.
Nepal’s objections
Through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nepal’s Ministry of Youth, Labour and Social Security appealed to the Malaysian side on August 22 to retain the previous recruitment system. Nepal insists that all agencies licensed in the country should be allowed to send workers to Malaysia.
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The Nepalese side put forward three demands: remove the 25 selected agencies from the list, resolve labor migration issues exclusively through bilateral consultations and agreements, and urgently convene a joint technical committee. This mechanism is stipulated by the labor agreement between the countries, signed on October 29, 2018. Since then, the committee has held only two official meetings.
The Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies also criticized the decision, stating that it restricts competition and equal opportunities for approximately 1,100 companies and institutions. Nepal’s Ministry of Labour ordered an inspection of the 25 selected agencies.
Recruitment under the new system has not begun
The Embassy of Nepal in Kuala Lumpur was instructed not to certify worker demand letters submitted by the 25 approved agencies or their affiliated partners. Nepal’s Department of Foreign Employment also stopped granting preliminary approval to such applications from August 22.
According to the publication, recruitment currently continues only under quotas issued by Malaysia before August 22. Employment of Nepali workers under the new system has not yet begun. About 400,000 Nepali citizens work in Malaysia; Nepal ranks third among the main labor-supplying countries after Bangladesh and Indonesia.
