Tenaganita warns Malaysia risks repeating migrant worker exploitation without urgent transparency, accountability, and a complete overhaul of the recruitment system.
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia risks repeating past failures in its migrant worker recruitment system unless it urgently restores transparency and accountability, Tenaganita has warned.
Executive director Glorene A. Das said public confidence in labour migration policies has been severely eroded by years of shifting decisions, policy reversals and unfulfilled promises.
She stressed that a simple denial over the reported involvement of private entities in recruitment processes is no longer sufficient to reassure the public.
“It raises more concerns than reassurance,” she said, describing it as part of a troubling pattern in which decisions appear to proceed without transparency, only to be clarified after public scrutiny.
Das said the issue extends beyond any single company, pointing instead to deep-rooted structural weaknesses in Malaysia’s migration governance.
She noted the country’s long-standing problems with opaque recruitment systems, monopolistic arrangements and private intermediaries profiting at the expense of migrant workers.
Against this backdrop, she said the government must clearly state whether firms such as Bestinet Sdn Bhd will play any role in future systems.
“Ambiguity is no longer acceptable.”
Tenaganita also cautioned against portraying direct hiring as a blanket solution. While reducing reliance on intermediaries may appear progressive, the group warned that without robust safeguards, such a move could merely shift exploitation from agents to employers.
“Without a regulated and transparent framework, what we risk is not reform, but a quiet reshaping of exploitation.”
Das highlighted concerns that employers could assume recruitment roles without adequate oversight, while workers remain exposed to hidden fees and informal arrangements that leave them indebted even before starting work.
Tenaganita’s Business and Accountability Programme officer Joseph Maliamauv said Malaysia requires a comprehensive national labour migration framework rather than piecemeal reforms.
He called for measures such as zero recruitment fees, standardised contracts, independent grievance mechanisms and stricter enforcement against abusive practices.
He also stressed that reforms must involve civil society organisations and migrant workers themselves, not just industry players or consultants.
Meanwhile, Tenaganita’s Migrant Rights Programme officer Abdul Aziz Ismail challenged the effectiveness of the foreign workers centralised management system. “Effectiveness cannot be measured by technological performance alone. The real measure is whether workers are protected,” he said.
Citing field data, Tenaganita said that since 2023, more than 400,000 migrant workers have entered Malaysia only to find themselves without employers, valid work permits or basic protections. Many have been left stranded, forced into irregular employment and exposed to exploitation.
“This is not a technical glitch. This is systemic failure – it’s a national disgrace,” said Tenaganita, adding that affected workers remain without wages, justice or meaningful recourse.
Tenaganita also rejected any attempt to revive or rebrand past systems, including continued involvement of Bestinet or similar models, which it claims have caused widespread harm.
It warned that without proper oversight, basic safeguards such as fair contracts, timely wages and humane working conditions could continue to be overlooked.
“Exploitation does not disappear. It simply shifts, adapts and continues,” it said.
Das said no new system should be introduced without first acknowledging past failures, stressing that meaningful reform must begin with transparency and accountability.
She described the current moment as pivotal for Malaysia’s migration policy direction.
“We can continue down the path of fragmented, profit-driven systems, or rebuild a framework that is just, transparent and centred on human dignity.”
She urged the government to act with “honesty, courage and accountability”, warning that anything less would only reproduce the same cycles of exploitation but under a different name.
