Nepal has formally informed the Malaysian government that it cannot accept the new standards recently introduced for private recruitment agencies involved in sending Nepali workers to Malaysia. According to the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security, a diplomatic note conveying Nepal’s position has been dispatched to the Malaysian government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.
Ministry Spokesperson Joint Secretary Pitambar Ghimire said the government has told Malaysian authorities that the standards cannot be followed immediately and that labor-related issues can be resolved through bilateral talks and understanding.
Earlier, Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through a diplomatic note to the Embassy of Nepal in Kuala Lumpur, informed that it had decided to rationalize the number of licensed private recruitment agencies allowed to handle the recruitment and placement of Nepali workers. The process, according to Malaysia, will be merit-based and overseen by its Ministry of Human Resources.
The note outlined 10 mandatory criteria agencies that recruitment agencies must meet to qualify. These include having at least five years of operating experience, successfully managing at least 3,000 foreign workers in the past five years, and deploying workers to at least three destination countries during that period. Agencies must also possess valid operating licenses, maintain a clean legal record, demonstrate ethical recruitment practices, and operate fully equipped training and assessment centers. Additionally, they are required to provide at least five written testimonials from international employers.
Malaysia has asked Nepal to submit a list of agencies meeting these requirements by Nov 15. It has sent similar diplomatic notes to India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Myanmar. Malaysian authorities have defended the move as an effort to ensure that only experienced and responsible firms are involved in the recruitment process.
However, Nepal’s recruiting agencies and their umbrella organization, the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA), have strongly objected to the plan, calling it discriminatory and monopolistic. Issuing a statement, NAFEA said it firmly rejects any attempt to impose syndicate-based control in the recruitment sector.
