Revamping G2G system

We are all for reducing workers' cost of overseas employment. To this end we had supported the ministry of overseas employment's G2G (government-to-government) arrangement with Malaysia, but the arrangement flopped. Reportedly, the Malaysian government wants to revisit the system to enhance labour recruitment and it has a need for 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers over the next three years. However, given that the G2G model managed to send some 10,000 workers only over the last two years, it is imperative that the reasons for the failure of the earlier arrangement are identified and addressed first; otherwise there is every possibility that the past flaws will be repeated, denting the aim.

We are interested in precisely what mechanism the government would devise to seriously ramp up the number of Bangladeshi workers going to Malaysia. We would also like to know what the business-to-business (B2B) model that is being proposed this time around will entail. Any half-hearted measure will not bode well for the country's prospects of cashing in on the opportunity that Malaysia presents.

The government has, in the best interests of the overseas job seekers, bypassed the whole private recruiting sector. This may have reduced the expatriate workers' travails but hampered the overall recruitment in terms of total numbers. One cannot deny that it is these recruiting agencies that effectively helped create the Bangladeshi overseas labour market. Hence, the rejection of private recruitment bodies en masse was perhaps not the best course of action. The government should consider taking them onboard in this matter and regard them as partners rather than rivals.