"It is very unlikely that the Malaysian labour market will open for Bangladeshi workers by this year", said a high official of the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment yesterday.

Malaysia's fresh recruitment from Bangladesh has remained suspended since 1997 while the country sent back thousands of undocumented Bangladeshi workers during this time.

Bangladesh's contesting for the post of OIC (Orgnisation of Islamic Conference) secretary general last year and her refusal of a number of investment proposals from Malaysian companies are the main reasons behind not opening the market for Bangladeshis, sources said.

Meanwhile, although Malaysia declared that they would allow re-entry of the workers returning home after expiry of job tenure, only around 2,000 workers out of some 14,000 Bangladeshis who returned home after that declaration went back to Malaysia.

But others declined as the Malaysian authorities asked them to join fresh jobs where they would be treated as beginners, often with very poor salary compared to what they got earlier.

Meanwhile, officials at the expatriates' welfare ministry said several hundred Bangladeshi workers went to Malaysia during the last few months on individual recruitment. Besides, two autonomous provinces of Malaysia recruited a few thousand Bangladeshi workers in last couple of years.

In mid 90s around half a million Bangladeshis went to Malaysia for job. Most of them came back home after expiry of job tenure or in the face of crackdown on undocumented workers there.