The Malay Economic Action Council (MTEM) has stated that Malaysia does not need 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers as the country already has a surplus of foreign workers.

MTEM chief executive officer Mohd Nizam Mahshar said the country only needs 1.72 million migrant workers.

Citing statistics for the year 2014, Nizam said foreign workers numbered at 3.1 million.

"MTEM does not see the need to bring in 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers because Malaysia only needs 1.72 million workers to fulfill the needs of the 3D (dirty, difficult and dangerous) sector," he told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

The surplus of foreign workers, Nizam said, has led to increased competition with local workers.

He added this affected the wages of those from the lower income group.

"When there are too many foreign workers, the effects are faced by the lower income group.

"Now we already have three million foreign workers.

"We find it strange that local workers have to compete with foreign workers," he said, in reference to the willingness of foreign workers to receive lower wages compared to locals.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had announced that 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers would be brought to Malaysia in stages over the next three years to meet the needs of employers from numerous sectors.

The workers would be brought in under the G2G (government-to-government) Plus scheme which allows them to be employed in the construction, service, manufacturing, and agriculture sectors, apart from the existing plantation sector.