The fat cat ruling the migrant services roost
Bestinet's Aminul Islam is reportedly close to Malaysia's who's who despite his controversial semi-charmed gig.
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Media reports have been flooding in that controversial migrant services provider Bestinet will have its contract renewed for another three years.
Malaysiakini first reported that Bestinet will get a three-year extension on its current contract following a May 29 Cabinet decision, while Channel News Asia (CNA) said that the firm’s possible renewal faced resistance from certain quarters given the company’s contentious track record. Both news portals cited sources.
Bestinet runs the so-called Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS), the only platform or software used by Malaysia’s Immigration Department for visa applications from 15 different labour-exporting countries.
The migrant services provider made headlines because its contract supposedly expired at the end of May this year.
But CNA’s report has it that Bestinet’s top management, including founder Mohamed Aminul Islam Abdul Nor, and labour agents aligned with the firm had been actively lobbying the Anwar government, including tapping the country’s political elite to secure a multi-year extension for the FWCMS concession.
A former Bangladesh national who took up Malaysian citizenship, Aminul has been a key player in the migrant services space, but there’s little about him in the public domain, save for his govtech forays.
Still, Aminul has been able to move millions and draw in Malaysia’s political and corporate elites to partner with him, either as a director or shareholder.