Staff Reporter:
Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam has announced that Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia will now be entitled to the same social security benefits as their Malaysian counterparts.
In addition, many people who go to Malaysia have weak English skills, and some cannot easily learn the Malay language. For them, the provision to file complaints in the Bangla language was discussed during the Chief Adviser’s visit.
He shared this information at a briefing on Thursday (14 August) at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka, following a meeting of the Advisory Council.
Speaking about the Chief Adviser’s three-day visit to Malaysia, the Press Secretary said, “The Malaysia trip was very fruitful. We would call it a landmark tour. As a result, the already good relationship between Bangladesh and Malaysia has become even stronger. Discussions with the Malaysian Prime Minister focused on workers’ welfare, and we made some progress on this matter. Regarding undocumented or illegal workers in Malaysia, the Adviser on Expatriates’ Welfare informed the meeting about steps to regularize them.”
He further added that the Bangladesh side proposed the recruitment of security guards and caregivers in Malaysia, and expressed hope to see progress on this matter soon. Additionally, the “Graduate Plus” program was discussed, which would allow Bangladeshi students in Malaysia to work, and Malaysia has agreed to work on it.
Shafiqul Alam said, “We will very soon sign a Free Trade Agreement with Malaysia. Currently, we import food and other products worth 3 billion US dollars from Malaysia. To accelerate trade between our countries, we will move forward with FTA discussions quickly. We are already holding talks with Japan and Singapore on FTAs as well.”
