Malaysia to review migrant labour deals to stamp out exploitation

Malaysia will review bilateral agreements with 15 nations from which it sources labourers in a bid to address exploitative practices and manpower imbalances that have left thousands of migrant workers stranded without jobs, officials said.
Since last year, thousands of migrants, mostly from Bangladesh and Nepal, have been left in limbo after arriving in Malaysia, where they were told that jobs promised to them in exchange for steep recruitment fees were no longer available.
The plight of the migrants coincided with concerns over workplace abuses in Malaysia, with several companies facing U.S. bans over the use of forced labour in recent years. Many labourers said they had not been paid any wages.
Speaking to reporters late on Tuesday, the labour and home affairs ministers said the distribution of labourers was uneven across the economy, prompting a need to review the bilateral agreements.