Malaysia denies official Dhaka stance on 200,000 worker intake report
Malaysia has clarified that reports of taking 200,000 workers from Bangladesh do not represent the official stance of the Dhaka government. Malaysian Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil made the remarks following a cabinet meeting in Putrajaya.
The government of Malaysia has formally responded and clarified reports regarding the recruitment of two hundred thousand workers from Bangladesh. Malaysian Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil addressed the matter on Wednesday, stating that the widely circulated news concerning the massive worker intake does not reflect the official position of the government of Bangladesh.
Addressing reporters during a press conference held in the administrative capital of Putrajaya following a cabinet meeting, Minister Fahmi Fadzil elaborated on his discussions regarding the issue. He noted that he had personally communicated with Human Resources Minister R Ramanan to verify the reports that had appeared in international and regional media outlets.
According to Fahmi Fadzil, the Human Resources Minister confirmed that the circulating reports regarding the large-scale worker recruitment do not constitute any formal statement or policy position issued by the Bangladesh government. Fahmi further explained his understanding of the situation based on his official consultations in Putrajaya.
The Malaysian communications minister remarked that, as far as he understood the situation, the statements in question were made by a state minister rather than the central government. Consequently, he emphasized to the press conference attendees that these remarks could not be taken to represent the official governmental stance of Bangladesh.
The international reports in question, which prompted the clarification from Putrajaya, had previously been published by prominent media organizations including The Daily Star and Prothom Alo. Those published reports had specifically cited Bangladesh's State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (LGRD), Mir Shahe Alam.
According to the reports that appeared in those publications, State Minister Mir Shahe Alam had asserted that Malaysia would recruit approximately two hundred thousand workers over the course of the next six months. Furthermore, the published statements attributed to the LGRD state minister included a claim that ten thousand of those incoming workers would be recruited entirely free of cost.
