Charles Santiago said the existing document needs to be rewritten to outline clear rules regarding the treatment and mobility of migrant workers, while establishing legal accountability for any violations.
“Right now, it is only an MoU, which is not legally binding,” the co-chair of the Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights told FMT.
Santiago, a three-term former Klang MP, said this new agreement should incorporate the “employer pays principle”, which would see employers bearing the costs of migrant workers’ flight tickets and recruitment fees to agencies.
He said several large firms in Malaysia had already adopted this policy to keep workers from being forced to pay for their own recruitment and passage to Malaysia.
“It used to be known as the ‘zero recruitment fee’ policy. Right now, Bangladeshis (who want to work in Malaysia) have to pay recruitment fees that can go up to RM30,000.
“These workers come quite far, and they really have no idea what’s happening. Many of them also get cheated by promises of good jobs and high salaries.
“For example, a worker might think he’s getting RM2,000, but he may end up getting only RM1,000 due to various deductions involved,” he said.
The former chairman of the parliamentary committee on human rights believes the time is right for Malaysia to negotiate a new deal with Bangladesh, which recently installed a new interim government.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim made a one-day trip to Dhaka, Bangladesh, last week, where he said Malaysia would prioritise taking in Bangladeshis who lost the opportunity to seek work here due to political turmoil in their home country.
At a press conference with new Bangladesh president Muhammad Yunus, Anwar stressed that these migrant workers should not be treated as modern slaves.
Santiago suggested that the revised agreement with Bangladesh incorporate a mechanism that would allow mandate migrant workers to put aside a portion of their earnings as savings.
He said there was a global push for this initiative to give migrant workers better social protection by ensuring they do not return to their home countries empty-handed.
Santiago also called for Bestinet Sdn Bhd, the firm involved in the recruitment of foreign workers, to be dismantled.
“Bestinet should be completely taken out and replaced with a new system to ensure transparency and efficiency in worker recruitment,” he said.
He also said Bangladesh should regulate its recruitment agents better and reduce their numbers, adding that this was a crucial step for Dhaka to take to ensure its migrant workers are treated better.