Questions over windfall worth billions for company linked to man wanted by Bangladesh

Questions have arisen over a government windfall worth billions of ringgit for a company linked to a former Bangladeshi national who has taken up Malaysian citizenship and who is wanted by Bangladeshi authorities, as well as the speed at which the contract was extended for another six years. 

Bestinet Sdn Bhd's contract to manage the Foreign Workers Centralized Management System (FWCMS) was extended on Sept 3, just two weeks after receiving Cabinet approval. 

The system was developed to handle the recruitment of foreign workers, with the aim of eliminating manual processes and physical interations which could provide opportunities for corruption. 

However, Bestinet founder Aminul Islam, who holds a "Datuk Seri" title, is wanted in Bangladesh on charges of involvement in money laundering, extortion, and the trafficking of foreign workers. 

Early this month, Bloomberg reported that Bangladeshi police had asked Malaysia to deport Aminul and one Ruhul Amin. Ruhul is the owner of Catharsis International, a recruitment company based in Dhaka.

Bangladeshi authorities also asked the Malaysian government to suspend the use of FWCMS.

A letter from Interpol in Bangladesh to its counterpart in Malaysia said Aminul and Ruhul had played a key role in extorting money from victims while exposing them to physical and mental torture. 

Both Aminul and Ruhul have denied the claim. 

Aminul is currently a shareholder of Bestinet which, according to a recent report by Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), is set to make RM3.2 billion under a newly extended contract with the Malaysian government. 

This was after the new agreement saw an increase in fees for temporary work visit passes (PLKS) or e-PASS applications, from RM100 to RM215 per worker.

Taking into account some 2.5 million foreign workers, PAC predicted that Bestinet would earn RM3.2 billion through to 2031 when the contract expires. 

The two-fold increase was approved to enable the government to pay Bestinet arrears for six years from 2018 to 2014.

The contract extension and fees hike was decided by a committee involving the home ministry, human resources ministry, Attorney-General's Chambers, and chief secretary to the government Mohd Zuki Ali.

Bestinet CEO Ismail Mohd Noor however denied PAC's calculations of the amount of money the company would receive.

He said the fees would not necessarily be imposed on 2.5 million individuals as the country might reduce its number of foreign workers. 

"For example, right now Malaysia only has 2.1 million foreign workers," he was qouted as saying by Malaysiakini. 

Ismail was among those questioned by PAC, which is represented by both government and opposition MPs. 

"It is morally right for the government to give us something. To give us something that can be brought forward," he said in a session with PAC. 

According to PAC, the fees were over the RM86 rate approved by the Public Private Partnership Unit, an agency under the Prime Minister's Office. 

Previously, Bestinet itself only asked for RM120. 

In 2018, Bestinet was at the centre of claims by a Nepali daily that over RM185 million was milked from Nepalis seeking work in Malaysia.

The company had strongly denied the allegation published in an article titled "Kleptocrats of Kathmandu and Kuala Lumpur" in Nepali Times.

Former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin, in the latest episode of his Keluar Sekejap podcast, questioned the opposition for remaining sluggish even after PAC's exposure and criticism of the Bestinet contract. 

"The contract was for billions of ringgit, and there may or may not have been a tender," he said. 

"Or is the government just extending the existing contract? What are the terms?" 

Khairy said the reaction would have been different if PAC had revealed the matter during Pakatan Harapan's time in the opposition. 

"I think this case would have exploded by now, with people taking to the streets and so on. 

"If it had been the old opposition, which is in government today, something like this... wow, it would have become a national issue," he said. 

Perikatan Nasional chief whip Takiyuddin Hassan has yet to respond to MalaysiaNow's request for comment.