Bangladeshis in MalaysiaShama Rani Paul

Malaysian Studies 2014/2015

Introduction

Bangladeshis in Malaysia form a large proportion of Malaysia's foreign labour force.

When both legal and illegal residents are included, their population was estimated to total 500,000 persons, roughly one-sixth of all the foreign workers in Malaysia as of 2009.

Migration History• Bengali people have long established in Malaysia, history

record demonstrated that the traders from the Bay of Bengal had been involved in commercial activities in the Sultanate of Malacca in the 15th-16th century.

• Many of them consist of traders, policemen, coolies, plantation labourers and colonial soldiers.

• The first migrant workers from modern-day Bangladesh are believed to have been a group of 500 who came in 1986 to work on plantations; the two countries concluded a governmental-level agreement on manpower exports in 1992, following which migration expanded sharply. 

• Bangladesh is one of five countries, along with Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Thailand, which have such agreements with Malaysia for manpower exports.

• Construction workers form a large proportion of Bangladeshi migrant workers.

• From July 1992 until December 1995, of 89,111 Bangladeshis issued temporary work passes, worked in construction, forming one-fifth of all workers in the construction sector in Malaysia and making them the second-largest group behind Indonesians.

• 91.4% were first-time migrants, who had never previously worked abroad.

• Surveys showed between 6.4% and 14.9% admitted to working illegally, without proper employment authorisation or travel documents.

New Meanings

The Bay of Bengal, the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean.

A plantation is a large piece of land (or water) usually in a tropical or semitropical area where one crop is intentionally planted for widespread commercial sale and usually tended by resident laborers.

Bangladesh–Malaysia relations• Bangladesh and Malaysia enjoy strong fraternal relations.

Malaysia has a high commission in Dhaka and Bangladesh has a high commission in Kuala Lumpur.

• Both nations are members of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Developing 8 Countries and the Non-Aligned Movement.

• Malaysia was one of the first countries to recognise the independence of Bangladesh in 1972.

• Malaysia is also one of the largest foreign investors in Bangladesh

• In 2014, the Malaysian cabinet has decided to open all sectors, apart from plantations in the Malaysian economy for Bangladeshi workers to work.

Economic Relations

• In 2012, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed by both countries for collaboration in the construction of the Padma Bridge which has been consider as the largest bridge in Bangladesh once it finished.

• A free trade agreement also has been proposed for both countries to boost the pharmaceutical, garment and tourism sector of Bangladesh, while Malaysia would benefit immensely from future infrastructure projects dished out by the Bangladeshi government.

• Malaysia also consider as the third largest investment partner in Bangladesh after India and Pakistan with the Malaysian companies invests in the sectors of telecommunications, power generation, textile and financial sectors.

The top 5 exports of Malaysia's products to Bangladesh are such as

1.refined petroleum products, 2.palm oil, 3.chemicals products, 4.iron and steel 5.electrical and electronics products

while the major import of Bangladeshi's are 1.textiles and apparel, 2.refined petroleum products, 3.vegetables, 4.processed food, seafood  5.electrical and electronics products.

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