Malaysia to slash migrant workforce amid intolerance, job scam crisis involving Bangladeshi labourers
- Rights groups allege tens of thousands of Bangladeshis have been tricked into coming to Malaysia over non-existent jobs and now face further exploitation
- A ‘drastic reduction’ in migrant worker numbers would cause companies to rush to bring in new labourers, a migrant activist warns
Malaysia will slash the number of low-skilled migrant labour it allows in the coming years, the economy ministry has said, as intolerance grows towards its burgeoning overseas workers amid a job scam crisis across the country’s Bangladeshi labour market.
Brought in during the 1980s to jump-start Malaysia’s economic boom, migrant workers were instrumental in the rapid growth of the country’s gleaming skyscrapers and infrastructure projects.
But they are now being seen by many among the country’s 30 million population as low-paid competition, with Bangladeshi workers in particular becoming an easy scapegoat for social and economic ills, including taking Malaysian jobs, that easily teeter towards xenophobia despite their essential role in building the economy.
Speaking in parliament on Monday, Minister of Economy Rafizi Ramli said Malaysia would set a course for a “drastic and significant reduction” in the number of foreign workers as part of its next five-year plan for 2026 to 2031.
“We need to be committed to reducing the numbers of low-skilled migrant workers in our country,” Rafizi said.
His comments come as rights groups allege tens of thousands of Bangladeshi migrant workers have been brought in under false pretences and now languish in immigration detention centres, or have been forced into seeking jobs illegally to pay off debts to employment agencies in both Malaysia and Bangladesh who tricked them into emigrating.
Since December, Malaysia has seen reports of thousands – possibly tens of thousands – of migrant workers being lured into Malaysia over lucrative job opportunities, only to find out after arriving in the country that the jobs promised are non-existent.