THE government is expected to recruit about 200,000 Bangladeshi workers over the next six months in a phased intake covering several sectors, according to.
A report by Bangladesh’s The Daily Star cited that the recruitment is expected to begin at the end of this month, with 10,000 workers reportedly to be brought in at no cost, as Malaysia and Bangladesh seek to address labour shortages while maintaining tighter controls over foreign-worker recruitment.
The publication, quoting Bangladesh’s Deputy Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam, reported that Malaysia would recruit about 200,000 Bangladeshi workers.
“We (Malaysia) will recruit around 200,000 workers. Of that number, 10,000 workers will be recruited at no cost. There are about 800,000 registered Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia. Some are unregistered. Our minister has asked the Malaysian authorities to register them,” he said.
The statement followed a meeting between Malaysia’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Shuhada Othman, and Bangladesh’s Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Abdul Moyeen Khan in Dhaka.
The development comes after Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman visited Malaysia in June and urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to consider reopening Malaysia’s labour market to Bangladeshi workers.
However, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri R. Ramanan has stressed that Malaysians must be given priority for available employment opportunities before employers are allowed to recruit foreign workers.
The policy is in line with the Human Resources Ministry’s objective of ensuring that job opportunities are first offered to local workers before employers turn to foreign labour.
Anwar has also directed the relevant ministries and agencies to expedite applications for foreign-worker employment according to priority, particularly in the restaurant sector, within one month.
He said the Government recognised the urgent need among restaurant operators to address labour shortages, but stressed that foreign-worker recruitment must remain controlled.
Under the Government’s policy outlined in the 12th Malaysia Plan (RMK12), foreign workers must not account for more than 15 per cent of the country’s workforce.
Under the 13th Malaysia Plan (RMK13), the proportion is targeted to fall to 10 per cent by 2030.
The reported intake would therefore need to be managed within Malaysia’s broader policy of prioritising local employment while allowing foreign workers to fill genuine labour shortages. - September 2, 2026
