Malaysia to launch direct recruitment platform for foreign workers

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.