Malaysia Accused of Restricting Nepali Workers to Select Agencies

Malaysia's Foreign Worker Centralised Management System (FWCMS) now lists only 25 Nepali foreign employment agencies as 'Registered Recruitment Agencies,' a move that has drawn sharp criticism from the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA).

Previously, all agencies licensed by the Nepali government could send workers to Malaysia. NAFEA President Dik Bahadur Khatri stated that the new arrangement appears designed to benefit a limited number of companies. "It will ultimately harm Nepali workers. We oppose it and will launch a protest if necessary," Khatri said, expressing concern that the move restricts access to the Malaysian labor market for the majority of Nepali recruiters.

The current situation echoes a dispute from last year when Malaysia introduced a 10-point set of criteria for foreign employment agencies from Nepal and other labor-sending countries. These criteria, including requiring agencies to have been licensed for at least five years and to have sent a minimum number of workers, were seen by Nepali companies as an attempt to create a "recruitment syndicate."

The Nepali government had formally objected to those proposed criteria through a diplomatic note, leading to the process being halted. The current listing of only 25 agencies on the FWCMS portal has led recruitment agencies to view this as a continuation of that earlier, contentious plan. The Ministry of Labour in Nepal has stated it was not involved in creating a syndicate and remains committed to a competitive and transparent foreign employment sector.

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Previously, all Nepali foreign employment companies were listed on the FWCMS portal. Now only 25 have been retained. This is an arrangement designed to give work to a limited number of agencies. It will ultimately harm Nepali workers. We oppose it and will launch a protest if necessary.