Malaysia

Background

As of July 2026, data from the Malaysian Department of Statistics reveals that Malaysia had an estimated migrant population of 3.38 million, constituting 9.8% of the total population of 34.4 million. The majority of migrants in Malaysia originate from Indonesia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Nepal. These migrants are actively involved in various industries, including manufacturing, plantation, agriculture, services (hospitality and security), and domestic work. Additionally, Malaysia is home to approximately 1200 employment agencies. However, concerns have arisen regarding the legality of some of these agencies, with suspicions of dubious relationships among agencies themselves. This complex landscape underscores the importance of exploring the status and operations of employment agencies in Malaysia. Knowing the license or legitimacy of an agency is crucial to guarantee a safer workplace for the migrant workers, as it directly impacts their rights, protections, and overall well-being within the city ^[1].

Results

The 2026 scan covered 1,266 employment agencies in Malaysia.

46 agencies (3.63%) share the same bounding address with another agency, over 56 links.
- Same bounding address between agencies means that agencies map to the same location, in practice the same building, and their relationship might be suspicious as they might be owned by the same entity who tries to “spread risk” over multiple agencies in case some get shut down due to illegal practices.
42 agencies (3.32%) share the same email address with another agency, over 54 links.
26 agencies (2.05%) share the same phone number with another agency, over 33 links.
- Phone number sharing between agencies is highly suspicious as it indicates that an agency owner is trying to “spread the risk” over multiple agencies in case some get shut down due to illegal practices.
2 agencies (0.16%) share the exact same address with another agency, over 1 link.

Agency Visualizer

Using publicly scraped data, the Agency Visualizer tool illustrates suspicious relationships between employment agencies. The visualizer displays the following relationships:

Same Address: Represents two entities located in the same building, on the same floor and in the same room.
Bounding Address: Represents two entities that map to the same spot, in practice the same building. Their geocoded locations sit within about a metre of each other.
Telephone: Represents two entities sharing the same phone number.
Email: Represents two entities sharing the same email address.

There is one extra feature in the visualizer, which is:

Agencies With No Relationships: Displays the agencies that don’t have any relationships with another agencies.

Agency Search

The Agency Search tool provides a more detailed view of each employment agency’s information, including a textual view of the relationships displayed in the Agency Visualizer.