All of the whirlwind began on August 2026, after Malaysia named 25 agencies as principal recruiters who further added 10 subagents which concluded to the total count of 250 agencies, out of about 1,100 licensed agencies. Such act of Malaysia is called to be monopolistic and against to the bilateral labour agreement 2018 between Nepal and Malaysia.
Nepal government has launched an investigation on the history of the agencies named as the principal recruiters.
The new demands for Malaysia are stalled since August 22.
The suspension has drawn concern from both aspiring migrant workers whose applications are now stalled and recruitment agencies excluded from the new system, at a moment when Nepal's economy is already absorbing the cost of the August floods.
"Equal opportunity, fair competition and the right to conduct business must be guaranteed," said Dik Bahadur Chhetri, president of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies, representing roughly 1,100 licensed firms. He warned the setup could hurt employer and pay workers, who make up 25-30% of Malaysia bound Nepalis.
Nepal has put the demand forward for Malaysia to scrap the principal recruiters list, resolve the dispute government-to-government, and revive their joint technical labour committee .
Why it matters: Malaysia is one of Nepal's largest labour markets. A prolonged freeze might threaten migrant workers' livelihoods and hundreds of agencies' finances, accumulating pressure on an economy that is already absorbing flood-recovery costs.
