KUALA LUMPUR (May 12): The International Labour Organization (ILO) said it does not support or endorse the Foreign Workers Centralized Management System (FWCMS) run by Bestinet Sdn Bhd, and also denied that the system has any official recognition from the United Nations.
“The FWCMS is not a UN recognised platform. The official title of the award is the World Summit Awards (WSA). The WSA is one of the activities of the non-profit organisation International Center for New Media,” it said in a statement on Monday to clear up confusion over claims about Bestinet and its FWCMS platform.
The statement entitled “International Labour Organisation statement promoting fair and effective recruitment in Malaysia” was in response to claims by lawyers of Bestinet dated April 23, which claimed that the platform is “UN recognised”, and that it is “recommended by the International Labour Organization and “designed in accordance with the principles and policies of the International Labour Organization and the International Organization for Migration”.
The ILO said that while the WSA was initiated within the context of the UN World Summit on the Information Society and is aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals, it is not an award issued by the UN.
“Hence the award, while indeed bona fide, does not imply UN recognition,” the ILO statement read.
The tripartite UN agency also clarified that its positive comments regarding the FWCMS were made during the proposal stage in 2013 and should not be construed as an endorsement of the company or any subsequent implementation of the system.
According to the ILO, Bestinet executives briefed its regional office in Bangkok on the proposed FWCMS on April 10, 2013.
“The ILO found the Bestinet proposal to be well presented, innovative, comprehensive and demonstrate a good understanding of some of the challenges faced in the effective management of labour migration,” it said.
However, the organisation stressed that it did not assess Bestinet’s credentials or competence to carry out the proposed system.
“These comments should not be construed as an endorsement of the company,” it added.
The FWCMS has been used for the recruitment of migrant workers to Malaysia since 2018, particularly from Bangladesh. The system consists of various modules covering worker health checks, insurance and recruitment agents.
However, the system has come under scrutiny over allegations of exploitation involving Bangladeshi migrant workers through opaque business practices, which Bestinet has consistently denied.
It was previously reported that Bestinet proposed a new migrant worker recruitment system, dubbed Turap (the Universal Recruitment Advanced Platform), but the proposal was reportedly shelved by the Malaysian government following pressure from politicians and civil society groups over the company’s role.
The ILO said in 2021, Malaysia and Bangladesh agreed to follow a global standard which stated that workers should not pay recruitment fees or hidden costs to secure jobs. Employers expected to cover most hiring costs, including airfares.
However, by 2023, reports said some Bangladeshi workers arrived in Malaysia but found no actual jobs waiting for them.
After that, in 2024, the ILO, together with the International Organization for Migration and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, raised concerns and offered help to improve Malaysia’s migrant worker system to make it more transparent and fair.
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