Claim of Malaysia Recruiting 200,000 Bangladeshi Workers Unofficial, Says Fahmi

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 2 — A statement by a Bangladeshi junior minister claiming that Malaysia plans to recruit 200,000 workers from Bangladesh does not represent the official stance of the Bangladeshi government, Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil clarified today.

Speaking at a press conference following the weekly Cabinet meeting, Fahmi said Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri R Ramanan confirmed that the statement was made independently by a junior member of the Bangladeshi administration.

“I contacted the Human Resources Minister regarding the matter and he informed me that it was not an official statement from the Bangladesh government. It was issued by, as I understand, a junior minister. Therefore, it does not represent an official decision of the Bangladesh government,” Fahmi stated.

In a separate update, Fahmi revealed that the Cabinet was informed of plans to repatriate 1,476 Myanmar nationals currently held at immigration detention depots back to their home country by the end of September.

He emphasized that all 1,476 individuals had voluntarily signed official documentation consenting to their return.

Out of more than 10,000 Myanmar nationals currently in Malaysian detention facilities, the Home Ministry screened 5,000 names and submitted them to the Myanmar Embassy for processing. From that submission, the embassy approved 1,476 individuals for the upcoming repatriation exercise.

Fahmi added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Wisma Putra) secured explicit safety assurances from Myanmar authorities regarding the returning detainees.

“Wisma Putra and, in particular, the Foreign Minister have informed us that nothing will happen to them. What has been agreed and understood with the Myanmar authorities is that the 1,476 out of the 5,000 who have been approved for return will be safe in Myanmar,” he added.

–NMT