Bangladesh, Malaysia seek to curb human trafficking

(May 18, 2012) Bangladesh and Malaysia are seeking ways to draw up new rules regarding the recruitment of Bangladeshi migrant workers that they hope will curtail human trafficking activities. “Malaysia is very concerned about human trafficking,” Bangladesh Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain said after returning from talks with several Malaysian ministers this week in Putrajaya. Malaysia is set to resume recruiting foreign workers as it completes a programme, which began in August last year, to manage the status of up to 2 million illegal migrant workers, according to reports. Malaysia froze recruitment of foreign workers in early 2009 as problems resulting from the influx of illegal immigrants threatened to spiral out of control. It was thought that up to 400,000 Bangladeshi migrant workers were in Malaysia at the time. Mosharraf Hossain said Malaysia now wants a totally transparent process.