Malaysia will not be taking in all the 1.5million Bangladeshi workers based on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in Dhaka on Thursday, Malaysia clarified on Friday.

Malaysian Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot said the number actually referred to the number of Bangladeshis registered with the Ministry in Bangladesh to work in 139 countries worldwide.

‘There're a total of 1.5 million Bangladeshis registered for future employment in foreign countries, but that's not the number of workers coming to Malaysia,’ says Datuk Seri Richard Riot.

‘The perception that 1.5 million‎ workers will be brought in from Bangladesh to work in Malaysia is not true,’ Malaysian media outlet The Star Online quoted the Human Resources Minister as saying.

At a press conference on Friday in Malaysia, he said the Bangladeshis were seeking employment in 139 countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, The Star Online reported from Putrajaya.

He hoped the clarification would allay fears and concern that a huge influx of foreigners, particularly from Bangladesh, were on their way to Malaysia.

As of December last year, there are 2,135,035 documented foreign workers in Malaysia, of which 282,287 are from Bangladesh.

Riot also said the Memorandum of Understanding signed in Dhaka on Thursday was similar to what the government had previously signed with Indonesia, India, Thailand, Cambodia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

Earlier, it was reported that Malaysia will recruit 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers in the next five years.

Malaysia's Human Resources Minister Richard Riot Jaem and Bangladesh's Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Nurul Islam BSc signed the MoU on Thursday in Dhaka.