Bangladeshis hold 37 percent of foreign workforce in Malaysia in the category of managerial posts, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said on Thursday referring to a report of a Malaysian newspaper.

Presenting budget for Fiscal 2019-20, he told the national parliament that Malaysian news portal  'Free  Malaysia Today' reported in 2018 that Bangladeshis were among the skilled foreign workers in the Malaysian labour market.

The Finance Minister said that a  huge  workforce  is  entering  the  job market  every  year',  sincere  efforts  have  been  made  to  expand  overseas labour  market  alongside  the  domestic  market. 

Overseas  employment  in Malaysia  and  South  Korea  has  increased  significantly  owing  to  our successful  diplomatic  efforts, he said.

‘We  have  been  striving  to  develop  skills  of our  workers  to  make  them  competent  for  foreign  labour  markets.  As a result of our time bound plans and their proper implementation, the rate of overseas employment has  increased  which  in  turn  enhanced   our  image  and  also  played  a  role  in  increasing  the  remittances.’

To  explore  new  and  prospective  labour  markets,  he said that the  Ministry  of Expatriates  Welfare  and  Overseas  Employment  has  already  completed  a survey  titled  ‘Demand Analysis  of  Employment  of  Bangladeshi  Migrant Workers  in  the  International  Labour  Matket’  on  labour  markets  in  53 countries.

Mustafa Kamal said that the government reformed  legal framework  by  formulating  the  Overseas  Employment  and  Immigration Management Rules,  2017  and the  Wage Earners Welfare Board Act, 2018 to  regulate  migration  costs,  ensure  transparency  and  accountability  of  legitimate recruiting agents and ensure safe migration.

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