[UPDATED] MACC raids Bestinet office, questions several officials: report

KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is reported to have raided Bestinet’s headquarters yesterday, with several officials supposedly questioned as part of an ongoing investigation into the dubious selection of 25 Bangladesh recruiting agencies tasked with sending their workers here, according to a report.

According to a foreign news site, while Bestinet founder, who is also a Bangladesh national, was not detained, he was among several individuals who were questioned, as the anti-graft body seeks to establish their involvement in the selection process of the agencies. 

Based on the report, which quoted a Malaysian diplomatic source, the founder was also investigated over his ties with several politicians, including cabinet ministers, while MACC wanted to identify the criteria used to select the 25 companies. 

The article claimed the founder, who also carries the “Datuk Seri” title, was unable to explain his role in the selection process. 

When contacted, MACC officials confirmed the raid to The Vibes, saying that their team is expected to question more individuals, including high-placed ones, as part of their investigations. 

Bestinet is the firm in charge of providing the government with and operating the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS).

The report claimed that MACC had also visited the Bangladesh High Commission here yesterday, with Bangladesh labour attaché Md Nazmus Sadat Salim among those questioned over the embassy’s role in selecting the agencies and on the basis behind the selection.

“They wanted to know whether we had written any letter to the Malaysian Human Resources Ministry providing the list of 25 agencies. We said we provided a list of over 1,500 agencies. We also said we are not involved in the selection of the 25 agencies,” he was quoted as saying.

The article added that Bangladesh Minister of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Imran Ahmad had rubbished suggestions of the existence of the 25-member syndicate, noting that the republic had instead submitted a long list of 1,520 recruiters to Malaysia.

Malaysiakini quoted a Bangladesh High Commission source as confirming that a meeting was held between Nazmus and MACC yesterday, while Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan told FMT that he was not sure about the raids taking place.

According to the report, none of the officials from Bestinet, the Human Resources Ministry, the Bangladesh government and the high commission here were able to clearly reveal how the 25 agencies had been picked.

The Human Resources Ministry has been under pressure to explain the process of selecting the recruitment agencies, with many Bangladeshis also up in arms by the hefty fee they have to pay to enter Malaysia via the 25 selected firms.

Despite protest, Saravanan has maintained that the decision to appoint the companies was final.

He had said last month that the ministry’s accreditation of the 25 agencies was done to avoid monopolistic practices as well to safeguard the welfare and livelihood of the workers. 

On June 18, opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to act against the allegations surrounding Bestinet and another migrant worker supplier Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd, saying the two firms have been mired in controversies and warrant a thorough investigation from MACC on how they managed to secure government contracts. – The Vibes, July 6, 2022