Malaysia suspends Nepali worker recruitment amid agency dispute

Recruitment of unskilled workers from Nepal to Malaysia has been suspended amid disagreement between the two governments over recruitment agencies. Malaysia’s Ministry of Human Resources stopped biomedical screenings on October 1, effectively blocking new calling visas.

The dispute centres on Malaysia’s decision to designate 25 Principal Recruitment Agencies, each supported by 10 other agencies. Nepal’s Ministry of Youth, Labour and Employment objects to the selection and has refused to authorise the agencies to operate on an exclusive basis.

Bestinet Sdn Bhd, which manages the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System, said biomedical registrations would proceed only after activation by the designated principal agencies. Visa applications under the system require medical reports issued by 36 accredited centres in Nepal.

Nepali labour minister Ramji Yadav has proposed a Joint Working Group meeting on either November 18–19 or December 2–3. His secretariat said Nepal wanted the existing recruitment process retained until both governments agreed on a replacement. Talks would also cover renewal of their bilateral Memorandum of Understanding.

Malaysian Human Resources Minister Ramanan Ramakrishnan rejected a return to the previous arrangements in an October 6 letter to his Nepali counterpart. He said Malaysia would retain its current framework and agency selections.

Separately, Nepal’s Department of Foreign Employment has begun legal proceedings against proprietors of the 25 agencies. After obtaining tribunal warrants, it ordered those concerned to appear within 35 days or face measures including bank-account freezes and travel bans. Officials also raided several agency offices.

Malaysia received 132,000 Nepali workers during the previous fiscal year. Around 400,000 Nepalis work there, mainly in manufacturing, while Nepal Rastra Bank says Malaysia provides nearly 20 per cent of Nepal’s remittance inflows.