Malaysian Home Affairs Minister Hamzah bin Zainudin is likely to visit Dhaka later this month on a three-day visit to discuss issues of mutual interests with Bangladesh.

He will visit Bangladesh, arriving January 25, at the invitation of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad.

During the visit, Hamza Zainudin will also hold a meeting with his counterpart Asaduzzaman Khan, apart from his meeting with Minister Imran Ahmad on January 26.Hamzah will also attend a session with Bangladeshi overseas workers' recruitment agencies and visit the Bangladesh-Korea Technical Training Center.

The minister will join a dinner of the Malaysian diaspora in Dhaka during his stay.

Hamzah's visit comes on the back of Putrajaya opening the door to entry of foreign workers in all employment sectors, in line with a decision taken in a meeting of the Malaysian Cabinet on December 10, last year.

For the Malaysian home minister's visit to follow so soon on the back of his country's decision to reopen the labour market to foreign workers

This entry will be opened to all sectors – allowed for the employment of foreign workers – namely agriculture, manufacturing, services, mining and quarrying, construction and domestic servants.

Previously, approval was given for the entry of 32,000 foreign workers for the plantation sector with special exemptions.The Malaysian government advised the employers not to make any payment through intermediaries or third parties for the purpose of speeding up the application process as its cabinet recently approved the entry of foreign workers.

"This is to prevent fraud by irresponsible parties," said Malaysian Minister for Human Resources M Saravanan in a media statement on recruitment and employment of foreign workers.

The minister also reminded employers – who want to employ foreign workers – to submit their own applications based on the actual needs of foreign workers.

Employers who use the services of private employment agencies must also ensure that the agency is registered and has a license certified by the Department of Manpower Peninsular Malaysia under the Private Employment Agencies Act 1981, according to the statement.

All these admissions must comply with the standing operating procedures (SOP) for the admission of foreign workers, which was approved by the Covid-19 Ministerial Quartet Meeting on 14 December 2021, it added.

The minister will make an announcement in the near future on the date of applications that can be submitted by employers online for the process of hiring foreign workers for each sector of employment allowed from the source country.