Santiago questions move to limit Nepal worker recruitment to 25 agencies

Former Klang MP Charles Santiago has criticized the Malaysian government's decision to limit the recruitment of Nepali workers to just 25 agencies. This move, which went into effect last Friday, restricts employers to agencies listed on the Foreign Worker Centralised Management System (FWCMS) portal. Santiago argues that this decision is reminiscent of a previous restriction on the Bangladesh-Malaysia labour corridor, which he claims led to monopolistic practices and harmed workers' welfare.

Until the decision was announced on the FWCMS portal, employers were free to work with any licensed Nepali agency. With an estimated 400,000 Nepali workers in Malaysia, Santiago questions the value of the Labour Memorandum of Understanding if Malaysia unilaterally restricts recruitment whenever it suits the government. He urges the ministry to reveal the criteria used to select the 25 agencies and clarify the decision-makers and the lack of transparency in the process.

Santiago points out that such actions in the past have allowed syndicates to emerge. In 2022, when Malaysia limited recruitment from Bangladesh to 25 companies, the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies suspended all 25 selected agencies. He also notes that the 25 agencies listed on the FWCMS platform have agreed to voluntarily withdraw following Nepal's Ministry of Youth, Labour and Employment's intervention.

Santiago emphasizes that concentrating recruitment opportunities in a few hands weakens competition and could burden workers with higher debts. He questions the benefits of this unilateral decision for Malaysia and stresses that resolving labour migration issues should be done through bilateral dialogue between both countries.