Malaysia has published the names of 25 Bangladeshi recruiting agencies on its Foreign Workers Centralized Management System (FWCMS), signalling that recruitment of Bangladeshi workers may resume in the long-closed labour market. The list was posted on Friday, while Bangladesh’s expatriates’ welfare minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury said an official announcement on reopening was expected within the week.

The publication has raised questions over Bangladesh’s earlier plan to give priority to the state-owned Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited, or BOESL, in the first phase of recruitment. Chowdhury said workers would be sent through BOESL, but all recruiting agencies listed by Bangladesh would have an opportunity to participate. Former BAIRA secretary general Ali Haider Chowdhury said agencies had received no official information and wanted equal work opportunities, worker protection and lower migration costs.

Malaysia closed its labour market to Bangladesh and several other countries at the end of May 2024. Bangladesh had earlier submitted 423 agencies to Malaysia, and the current government later finalised 340 after scrutiny. Bangladesh’s High Commission labour wing in Kuala Lumpur said Malaysian authorities had not yet informed it about the 25-agency list.