The Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) has sought explanations from 250 recruitment agencies selected by Malaysia to operate under its Foreign Worker Centralised Management System (FWCMS), questioning the criteria and process used to select them.

The department has given the agencies seven days to respond to six queries after finding that Malaysia had listed 25 Nepali recruitment agencies as “primary” agencies on its FWCMS website, with another 250 listed as subsidiary or partner agencies.

The agencies have been asked to explain why and for what purpose they were listed in the system, how the selection process was conducted and what criteria and methods were used to assess them. The department also wants to know which agencies or authorities recommended and approved their inclusion.

The department has further asked whether the arrangement limits competition among Nepali recruitment agencies and whether any illegal financial activity was involved in the selection process. It has also sought clarification on whether the arrangement complies with Nepal’s Foreign Employment Act 2007, Foreign Employment Rules 2008 and other applicable laws.

The department had earlier sought similar explanations from the 25 agencies designated as primary agencies.

On August 21, Malaysia’s Ministry of Human Resources announced that it had authorised a specified number of recruitment agencies to recruit workers from 10 labour-source countries, including Nepal. It said applications for foreign worker quotas would have to be submitted through a new system.

Nepal’s Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security has not accepted Malaysia’s unilateral selection of Nepali recruitment agencies. Following the ministry’s direction, the department has begun investigating 275 agencies, including the 25 designated as primary agencies.

The department has also stopped giving preliminary approval for the verification of demand letters submitted through the selected agencies for Malaysia since August 22. Recruitment is currently proceeding only under quotas issued by Malaysia before that date. Recruitment through the new system has not begun in Nepal.

Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent a diplomatic note to Malaysia asking it to resume the recruitment process under the previous arrangements.

“We have sent a letter seeking to resolve the issue concerning labour matters between Nepal and Malaysia through bilateral discussions,” said Lok Bahadur Poudel Chhetri, spokesperson for the foreign ministry. “We expect a positive response.”

The Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies on Monday also raised the issue with the International Labour Organization (ILO), alleging that Malaysia had selected recruitment agencies unilaterally and without sufficient transparency.

“Malaysia’s move has created a monopoly. Our demand remains that participation, transparency and equal opportunities be ensured for all recruitment agencies,” said association president Dik Bahadur Khatri. “We drew the ILO’s attention to the need to ensure equal opportunities, fair competition and the right to conduct business for around 1,100 recruitment agencies and businesses.”

Khatri and other association representatives discussed the issue with Numan Özcan, head of the ILO in Nepal, and Mohammad Firdaus Azam, Malaysia’s chargé d’affaires in Nepal.

The ILO said the meeting provided an opportunity for a constructive exchange on labour migration from Nepal to Malaysia and other issues of common concern.