Kathmandu, Oct 28: Employment opportunities in Malaysia, a major destination for Nepali workers, have been suspended for the time being, the Peoples' Review reported. The process of sending new workers has stalled as Nepal and Malaysia have failed to resolve a dispute over the selection of manpower agencies responsible for recruiting workers.
Source: Peoples' Review
Malaysia's Foreign Worker Centralized Management System (FWCMS) has stopped registering new workers for biometric and medical screening, preventing the issuance of calling visas, according to the report. Bestinet Sdn Bhd, the company operating the FWCMS, has made the reopening of medical registration conditional on the activation of 25 manpower agencies listed by the Malaysian government as principal recruitment agencies. Ratopati, in a report carried by Hamro Patro, likewise reported that Malaysia employment has been suspended because of the dispute and that registration will reopen only once the 25 selected principal agencies become active.
Source: Ratopati via Hamro Patro
Malaysia selected 25 principal recruitment agencies and 250 subsidiary recruitment agencies in August, but Nepal has not approved them. Nepal's Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security has repeatedly raised serious objections to the selection process, the Peoples' Review said.
What Kathmandu has proposed
The Labour Ministry has insisted that the existing system should remain in place until the two countries reach an agreement to resolve uncertainty in the recruitment process. To settle the dispute and renew the memorandum of understanding (MoU), the ministry has proposed holding a joint working group meeting on November 18 and 19 or December 2 and 3, according to the report.
The Malaysian side, meanwhile, appears unwilling to reverse its decision. Malaysian Human Resources Minister Ramanan Ramakrishnan has written to his Nepali counterpart, Ramji Yadav, reaffirming Malaysia's position that the recruitment structure should comprise 25 principal agencies, each overseeing 10 subsidiary manpower agencies.
Why the suspension matters for Nepali workers
Malaysia received about 132,000 Nepali workers in the last fiscal year, around 400,000 Nepalis already work in Malaysia, and the country accounts for nearly 20 per cent of Nepal's remittances — the money workers send home to their families — according to Asia Daily. With registrations shut at the Malaysian end and approvals withheld at the Nepali end, people seeking new jobs in Malaysia cannot complete the recruitment process while the two positions remain unchanged.
Source: Asia Daily
Recruitment agencies in Nepal are themselves divided over the new system. Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies president Dik Bahadur Khatri has said the system should not create a monopoly for a limited group of companies and that all legally operating manpower companies should receive equal treatment and opportunity, urging the government to resolve the issue through diplomatic talks with Malaysia. No agreed meeting date, and no date for restarting medical registration, has been announced.