A claim by a Bangladeshi junior minister that Malaysia plans to recruit about 200,000 Bangladeshi workers over six months starting late September 2026 was rejected by Malaysian officials. [1, 2, 3]
Malaysian Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil said the claim "does not represent an official decision of the Bangladesh government," noting it was made by a junior minister and not endorsed by Dhaka. [4, 1, 5, 6, 7, 3]
Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri R. Ramanan confirmed the statement was unofficial. He described the recruitment figure as illogical, saying, "How does it make sense for 200,000 workers to come within six months? Does that mean more than 1,000 Bangladeshi nationals will have to enter Malaysia every day? It's not logical at all." [4, 1, 5, 8, 6, 7, 9, 3]
Ramanan emphasized that foreign worker intake will be based strictly on verified industry needs and annual quotas under the 13th Malaysia Plan. He said only genuine needs will be assessed and discussed by the Cabinet, adding the 200,000-worker timeline "does not reflect Malaysia's current needs." [8, 9]
The dispute comes after Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman urged Malaysian Prime Minister in June 2026 to consider reopening Malaysia's labour market to Bangladeshi workers following previous restrictions. [1, 2, 3]
Malaysia had restricted Bangladeshi worker recruitment in 2024 after reports of exploitation, debt bondage, and forced labour. [1, 2, 3]
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Cabinet was informed that 1,476 Myanmar nationals detained in immigration depots will be repatriated to Myanmar by the end of September 2026. [4, 5, 7] Over 10,000 Myanmar nationals remain detained, with 5,000 names screened and submitted to the Myanmar Embassy for repatriation processing. [4, 5]
Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry said it received assurances that the repatriated Myanmar nationals will be safe upon return. [4, 5, 7]
