Govt orders refund for 17,000 workers who failed to go to Malaysia

State Minister for Expatriates' Welfare and Foreign Employment Shofiqur Rahman Choudhury has said the recruiting agencies responsible have been ordered to return within 15 days the money paid by 17,000 workers who were unable to go to Malaysia.

He made this statement during a discussion on the situation in Malaysia held at the meeting room of the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment on Thursday.

The state minister said: “The investigation committee found that 100 recruiting agencies were responsible for sending workers to Malaysia. The number of workers who couldn’t go varied – some agencies couldn’t send 10, some 50, some 500, and some 400. We discussed this with the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) to understand the situation. They acknowledged taking the money but failing to send the workers. I asked them what would happen to this money on Wednesday. All of them agreed that the money taken from the workers would be returned within the next 15 days upon verification. We have made significant progress on this front.”

He added: “Our priority is to return the money to the affected workers. I have asked for the refunds to be made within 15 days. Legal action will be taken against those who fail to comply. No one will be exempted. We will focus on recovering the money first.”

The state minister mentioned that once the money is refunded, the workers will be prioritized when Malaysia resumes hiring. A joint working group meeting with Malaysia will be held at the end of this month to reopen the pathway for sending workers to Malaysia.

Shofiqur Rahman Chowdhury added: “We will monitor how much money is recovered within 15 days and take measures against those who fail to pay or show reluctance.”

Regarding the investigation, he noted: “Employers in Malaysia have also delayed demands in some cases, and many have received visas late. Our main objective is to refund the workers' money and provide them with employment, either in Malaysia or other countries.”