KUCHING: Bangladesh is looking forward to meeting Sarawak’s needs for workers in various sectors, especially the plantation sector.
However, this would have to be done on a government-to-government basis, said Deputy High Commissioner of the High Commission for the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to Malaysia, Mohammad Khorshed A Khastagir.
He said this during a courtesy call on Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas here on Wednesday (Oct 27).
Mohammad Khorshed said Bangladesh was ready to comply with Malaysia’s latest criteria on accepting foreign workers, whereby they must have had completed both doses of Covid-19 vaccination.
“The Bangladesh High Commission office is ready to accommodate the sending of workers. To begin with, we can send about 3,000 workers.”
He added that Bangladesh and Sarawak too had a lot of things to share in the agricultural sector.
Uggah, who is also Minister of Modernisation of Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development, said Sarawak needed a lot of workers, particularly in the oil palm sector.
“We certainly welcome more workers to help in the harvesting. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought many unprecedented challenges to us including shortage of workers.
“On the offer of workers, I will bring this to Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg for further deliberation.
“But where foreign workers are concerned, the state will have to go through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Putrajaya as well.”
He said Sarawak also welcomed investors in livestock breeding and modern precision farming in its effort to be a net food and food product exporter by 2030.
“We are also interested in rice plantation and shipbuilding sectors, among others.”
Among those present were High Commission for the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to Malaysia first secretary Farid Ahmed and Sarawak Deputy State Secretary (Socio-Economic Transformation) Datuk Seri Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki.
