Nepal monopoly in Malaysia security industry may end

Kathmandu March 7- Malaysia is preparing to allow local security firms to hire security guards from other labour sending countries which could possibly end a decade-old monopoly enjoyed by Nepali migrants in the sector in the South-east Asian country.

Senior Malaysian officials have said that they are planning to hire security guards from source countries like Sri Lanka due to limited supply of trained security guards from Nepal. “We may have to look at other source countries that have a good supply of security guards with military background, such as Sri Lanka,” Malaysian media quoted Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed as saying. He said that the job had been previously reserved only for Nepalis owing to their reputations as Gurkha soldiers. Malaysia has been recruiting security guards only from Nepal since 2006. Around 24,000 Nepalis are currently working as security guards in Malaysia, according to Malaysian Home Ministry.

Due to short supply of Nepali security guards, Malaysian employers are employing undocumented workers from Indonesia, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.