Malaysia PM Anwar assures attention to entry of 18,000 Bangladeshis

Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim Friday assured that his government would give immediate attention to the fresh entry of 18,000 Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia in the first phase.

“We have discussed the whole system. And we have gone through very transparent procedures. We need workers but they can’t be treated as modern slaves, no matter if they are from Bangladesh or any other country,” he said.

Visiting Malaysian prime minister said this while responding to a question during a joint press appearance with chief adviser professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus at Hotel InterContinental in Dhaka after bilateral talks.

Anwar Ibrahim, however, reminded Bangladesh to remain careful about criminal activities of anyone - either Malaysians or foreigners in Malaysia.

Dr. Yunus expressed his gratitude to the Malaysian prime minister on behalf of the people of Bangladesh for making this announcement on the workers issue.

Earlier in the day, Dr. Yunus and the Malaysian prime minister had a brief one-on-one meeting at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport before their bilateral talks.

Yunus said he was “very happy” to welcome his old friend in Dhaka as they have known each other for over four decades.

During the talks, the chief advisor said, he spoke briefly on the student-led revolution, the sacrifice of the students and people made in the movement, and the carnage committed by the ousted government.

The chief adviser also spoke about his long association with Malaysian universities and its leaders.

They boarded the same car to travel to the bilateral venue in an expression of their close friendship.

During the bilateral meeting, they discussed three core areas - politics, trade and investment.

The issues of mutual interest, including economic, political, trade and investment, education, technology and human resource development, manpower export, higher education cooperation, communications, infrastructure development, and defence cooperation were also highlighted.

In addition, the issue of Bangladesh to become a “Sectoral Dialogue Partner” in ASEAN in terms of regional cooperation was specially raised. Chief adviser Muhammad Yunus sought Malaysia’s support for Bangladesh to become a sectoral dialogue partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Malaysia is going to be the next chair of ASEAN from January 2025.

“We congratulate Malaysia’s upcoming chairmanship of ASEAN in 2025. We discussed the issue of Bangladesh’s inclusion as a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN. We look forward to Malaysia’s active role for Bangladesh’s inclusion in the regional forum,” he said at a joint press.

Dr. Yunus said Rohingya issues were also discussed in their meeting. The chief adviser further said he requested the Malaysian prime minister to pursue the Rohingya issue at the ASEAN forum to resolve the long-pending issue.

Speaking about the bilateral talks between the two leaders, he said both of them committed to revitalise the longstanding bilateral issues. “To fulfil the aspirations of the people, we appreciate the unwavering support and cooperation of our brotherly country, Malaysia.”

“We acknowledge the regular bilateral meeting at the foreign adviser and foreign secretary levels,” he said.

Mentioning about the fourth joint commission meeting to be held in Dhaka next, he stressed the need for signing a free trade agreement between the two counties.

He said they also discussed exploring the possibility of cooperation in agriculture, energy, connectivity, blue economy, science, innovation and defence and also increasing the number of Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia.

“We express our firm commitment and determination to work closely to elevate our bilateral relations to a new height,” Dr. Yunus said.

The Malaysian prime minister laid emphasis on “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” and addressing the issues of Malaysian companies in Bangladesh and vice-versa at a faster pace.

Anwar Ibrahim said they do not compromise with corruption, governance and issues of economic fundamentals.

He also said the joint commission meeting can be held as soon as possible.

Muhammad Yunus said Anwar Ibrahim’s tour is important as it is the first visit of the prime minister of any country to Bangladesh after the interim government assumed the office two months back.

This visit acknowledges Malaysia’s support to the interim government, he stressed.

The Malaysian prime minister, who led a 58-member delegation, landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 2:00 pm.

Professor Dr. Yunus received the Malaysian prime minister in the airport to take the relations between the two countries to a new height.

After almost a decade, a Malaysian prime minister visited Bangladesh, and this official visit was the first by the head of any government to Bangladesh since the formation of the interim government led by Dr. Yunus on 8 August.

Anwar Ibrahim was directly taken to Hotel InterContinental from the airport where he spent a couple of hours.

Yunus also hosted high tea in honour of the Malaysian prime minister.

Later, the Malaysian prime minister met president Mohammed Shahabuddin at Bangabhaban and signed the visitor’s book there.

He left Dhaka at 7:00 pm wrapping up his brief visit to Bangladesh.