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Top 5 at 5: Crossroads in Bangladeshi Foreign Worker Agreement

Harun Al Rashid, migrant rights activist

07-Jul-25 17:00

Top 5 at 5: Crossroads in Bangladeshi Foreign Worker Agreement

There have been renewed calls from Bangladesh to review its 2021 recruitment agreement with Malaysia, citing concerns over agency selection and syndicate control. We talk to Harun Al-Rashid, a migrant rights activist, about the implications for workers and the push for a more transparent, ethical system.

Other stories we covered:

• Calls for probe into judicial irregularities: Nine PKR lawmakers, led by former PKR deputy president Dato' Seri Rafizi Ramli, have called for a Royal Commission of Inquiry and a Parliamentary Select Committee probe into alleged irregularities in judicial appointments. All of this comes right after Rafizi’s recent revelation of a heated exchange with Anwar Ibrahim (which PKR members have dismissed). Syaza Shukri, associate professor of political science at the International Islamic University Malaysia weighs in on this situation.

• Seed rights at risk: A proposed legislative amendment has sparked concern among padi farmers, who fear it could disrupt long-standing agricultural traditions and increase operational costs. We speak to Chee Yoke Ling, the Executive Director of the Third World Network about the impact of these amendments.

• ‘Turun Anwar’ rally: Yesterday, protesters gathered to protest the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in a rally organised by PAS Youth. With this rally being a precursor to the larger ‘Himpunan Turun Anwar’ taking place on July 26, we speak to Rafique Rashid, a lawyer, information chief of Pejuang, and one of the speakers at the rally.

• Keluar Sekejap podcast riles up PAP: Pritam Singh’s appearance on Khairy Jamaluddin and Shahril Hamdan’s podcast last month garnered a strong response from Singapore’s People’s Action Party (PAP). They criticised the Leader of the Opposition for ‘denouncing Singapore’ and speaking to foreign press. We discuss PAP's statement, the Workers Party’s response, and more.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Produced by: Alia Zefri, Juliet Jacobs, Sneha Harikannan, Dashran Yohan

Presented by: Sharaad Kuttan, Dashran Yohan


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Categories:  controversiesLaw/Activismcorruptionenvironmentpoliticsgovernmentinternationaltravelfood

Tags:  pritam singh'Turun Anwar' rallykhairy jamaludinshahril hamdansingaporepeople's action partypapthe oppositionpodcastworkers partyprime ministerPrime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahimanwaranwar ibrahimdatuk seri anwar ibrahimpoliticalprotestsfarmersseedspkrrafizi ramliroyal commission of inquiryparliamentary select committeejudicial appointments commission malaysiabangladeshbangladeshi migrant workermemorandum of understandingmigrant workersmigrant workers rightsmou





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