7 Malaysian MPs raise monopoly concerns over Turap recruitment platform

The proposed introduction of a new foreign worker recruitment platform in Malaysia has drawn criticism from seven Malaysian lawmakers, raising fresh concerns for Bangladesh as the two countries discuss resuming worker recruitment.

In a joint statement issued today, the MPs urged the Malaysian government to suspend implementation of the proposed Universal Recruitment Advanced Platform (Turap), warning that it could create another private monopoly in the country's foreign worker recruitment system unless transparency concerns are addressed.

The statement was signed by Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung, Subang Jaya MP Wong Chen, Balik Pulau MP Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik, Sungai Siput MP S. Kesavan, Ampang MP Rodziah Ismail, Wangsa Maju MP Zahir Hassan and Gopeng MP Tan Kar Hing.

They questioned whether the cabinet had approved Turap and why Bestinet Sdn Bhd, the company behind the existing Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS), appeared poised to play another central role in Malaysia's foreign worker recruitment ecosystem.

Currently, around 800,000 Bangladeshis work in Malaysia, while several lakh others remain undocumented.

Recruitment of workers from Bangladesh and other countries has remained suspended since June 2024 following allegations of widespread irregularities involving the FWCMS.

During a recent meeting, Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim discussed labour welfare, including measures to address loopholes in the labour recruitment system.

"Turap concerns recruitment, employer matching, immigration processes, worker mobility, recruitment costs, labour rights and sensitive personal data. Such a system cannot be decided behind closed doors or introduced as a fait accompli," the MPs said.

They acknowledged that Turap's stated objective of eliminating exploitative middlemen, directly matching employers with workers and reducing recruitment costs had received broad support.

However, they cautioned that digitalisation alone would not guarantee reform.

"Without transparency, enforcement and accountability, we may digitise the same old exploitation, in a more concentrated way," they said.

The MPs also referred to previous governance concerns surrounding the FWCMS, noting that a Public Accounts Committee report found the system had operated for more than six years without a formal contract between the government and Bestinet.

They questioned why the government was considering another major platform involving the same company after subsequently formalising an agreement with Bestinet from June 2024 until January 2031 at Malaysian Ringgit (RM) 215 per worker, compared with the previous RM100 rate.

The lawmakers also questioned the need for another recruitment platform when the FWCMS already exists and the National Integrated Immigration System (NIISe) is under development.

Stressing that Malaysia urgently needs genuine reform to eliminate excessive recruitment fees, debt bondage and other exploitative practices, they said, "Reform must not mean replacing many middlemen with one powerful private monopoly."

The Malaysian MPs called on Putrajaya to suspend any implementation of Turap until parliament and the public are provided with full disclosure of its procurement process, commercial terms, governance framework and worker protection measures.