PUTRAJAYA is negotiating a memorandum of understanding with the Nepalese government in a bid to retain its workers, who form the bulk of Malaysia’s private security hires, said Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran.

Talks will include the matters of price, and if the exchanges would be between governments, or businesses, or a combination of both, Kulasegaran told Parliament today, replying to a question by Kota Melaka MP Khoo Poay Tiong.

Since May 16, the Nepalese government has barred its workers from working in Malaysia due to the high costs associated with immigration security clearance (RM105 per worker), biomedical screening coverage (RM100), and paperwork related with the one-stop centre run by private firm Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd.

The Nepalese government also cited allegations of money-laundering associated with the Migrams biomedical screening programme, which is not approved by Nepal and is handled by Malaysian private firm Bestinet Sdn Bhd.

Malaysian ministry officials met with officials from the Nepalese embassy last Tuesday, Kulasegaran said, adding that his ministry and the Home Ministry were undertaking a “holistic” study on the intake of Nepalese workers.

Kulasegaran said the companies that formed a monopoly on processing migrant workers were inherited from the previous government.

“This is a problem that can be overcome. Many of the workers are honest and hardworking, and are never late to work,” he said.

As of June 30, Nepalese workers form 21.67%, or 378,577 of 1,747,154 foreign workers, Kulasegaran told Parliament.

They are brought into the country via a “special mechanism” within the security and public order department in the Home Ministry. – July 31, 2018.