Wednesday, February 11, 2026 - The Malaysian government has announced plans to introduce a new digital platform that will allow employers to hire foreign workers directly, removing the need for private recruitment agents that have long controlled the process.
According to Economic Times, the initiative, disclosed by
Malaysia’s Human Resources Minister, Datuk Seri Ramanan Ramakrishnan, is aimed
at cutting recruitment costs, curbing worker exploitation, and improving
transparency in the country’s foreign labour market.
Ramakrishnan said dependence on intermediaries has exposed
foreign workers to practices such as excessive recruitment fees, debt bondage,
and elements of modern slavery.
“The issue has been raised repeatedly in Parliament and
highlighted in the media. We want to eliminate the middleman problem,” he said,
as quoted by The Malaysian Reserve.
Ramakrishnan said foreign workers are often required to pay
high recruitment fees even before leaving their home countries. Many workers
take out loans to cover these costs, leaving them in debt from the moment they
arrive in Malaysia. In some cases, workers also end up in roles that differ
significantly from what they were promised.
He noted that concerns about recruitment abuses have been
raised repeatedly in Parliament and by civil society groups, prompting the
government to seek a decisive shift away from the agent-driven model.
How the Platform Will Work
Under the proposed system, Malaysian employers would be able
to connect directly with prospective foreign workers through a centralised
digital platform.
Job descriptions, wages, and employment conditions would be
clearly displayed and agreed upon before contracts are signed, reducing the
risk of misrepresentation.
The platform is expected to streamline the hiring process,
cut costs, and improve oversight of foreign labour recruitment in Malaysia.
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