KATHMANDU: Some recruitment companies involved in sending workers to Malaysia for employment are allegedly engaged in forming a syndicate to limit competition.
Operators of several recruitment companies have accused Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba and Minister for Labour, Employment, and Social Security Sharad Singh Bhandari of indirectly supporting these activities. They say Minister Bhandari has shown little interest in preventing such practices even though around 40 companies are reportedly orchestrating a syndicate.
Remittance company owners are hesitant to speak out about who is behind the syndicate for fear of repercussions. The owner of one company told Himal Press that Rs 30 million per company is being raised to facilitate the operation of the syndicate in Malaysia and Nepal.
The Nepal Democratic Foreign Employment Entrepreneurs Forum (NDFEEF), which is close to the ruling Nepali Congress (NC), issued a statement last week, vowing to stand against the conspiracy to displace ethical businesspeople from their profession. Earlier, the Progressive Forum of Foreign Employment Association Nepal had issued a similar statement opposing the syndicate.
Labour Minister Bhandari, however, said it is not possible to form such a syndicate in Malaysia. “I assure you that no syndicate will be formed in Malaysia’s foreign employment sector during my term,” Bhandari told Himal Press. “The existing health-related syndicate has already caused enough problems. We will not tolerate things like these.”
Professional bodies of recruitment companies have said that middlemen are becoming active with Malaysia mulling over whether to resume recruitment from Nepal, which has been closed since last year.
According to Hari Bahadur Pandey, chairperson of the Nepal Foreign Employment Business Unity Committee, a few recruitment companies are trying to impose a syndicate to monopolize the recruitment of Nepalis in Malaysia. “Some officials and advisors of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA) are lobbying for the syndicate. While they publicly oppose the syndicate, they are secretly working on it,” Pandey claimed.
Recently, some bodies of foreign employment companies have issued press releases opposing the syndicate. However, several major players have remained silent on the matter.
Mahesh Basnet, general secretary of the NDFEEF, said a monopoly is being established under the guise of an “operating system,” which is essentially a syndicate. “A few limited business operators are conspiring to drive others out of this sector. If this happens, it will damage diplomatic relations between Nepal and Malaysia,” he added.
The NDFEEF has demanded that the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA) make public the identity of 25 company owners allegedly trying to establish the syndicate.
Rajendra Bhandari, president of the NAFEA, stated that some business operators are falling prey to false assurances made by some people. “NAFEA is against limiting competition not only in Malaysia but also in other labor-receiving countries,” Bhandari said. “There is no truth to the rumors of a syndicate being formed. The existing problems in Malaysia’s foreign employment sector are due to existing syndicates.”
He claimed that no one can impose a syndicate in Malaysia or any other labor-receiving country.
Meanwhile, Basanta Bohora, the assistant spokesperson for the labor ministry, said they have not received a response from Malaysia on their proposal to renew the labor memorandum of understanding (MoU). “All these syndicates will be dismantled once the MoU is signed,” he claimed.
