The Malaysian government is preparing to roll out a new digital platform that will enable employers to hire foreign workers directly to Malaysia, bypassing private recruitment agents who have long dominated the process.
The initiative, announced by Malaysia’s Human Resources Minister, Datuk Ramakrishnan, aims to reduce recruitment costs, curb exploitation, and enhance transparency in the country’s foreign labour sector, according to reports by Economic Times and The Malaysian Reserve.
Ramakrishnan highlighted that reliance on intermediaries has left foreign workers vulnerable to abuses, including excessive recruitment fees, debt bondage, and practices associated with modern slavery.
“The issue has been raised repeatedly in Parliament and highlighted in the media. We want to eliminate the middleman problem,” he said, as quoted by The Malaysian Reserve.
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He explained that foreign workers often pay substantial recruitment fees before leaving their home countries, frequently taking out loans to cover these expenses. “Many workers take out loans to cover these costs, leaving them in debt from the moment they arrive in Malaysia,” he noted. In some instances, workers are placed in roles that differ significantly from what they were promised.
Ramakrishnan added that repeated concerns from Parliament and civil society groups about recruitment abuses have prompted the government to pursue a decisive shift away from the agent-driven model.
Under the proposed platform, Malaysian employers will connect directly with prospective foreign employees through a centralized digital system. Job descriptions, wages, and employment conditions will be clearly displayed and agreed upon before contracts are signed, reducing the risk of misrepresentation.
Officials expect the new platform to streamline the hiring process, lower costs, and improve oversight of foreign labour recruitment in Malaysia.
