KATHMANDU: The Malaysian government has suspended the operation of Bestinet Sdn Bhd for exploiting Nepali migrant workers.

The Malaysian Human Resource Minister M Kula Segaran announced during a press conference on Tuesday that Bestinet had received support of powerful Malaysian politicians and profited from foreign migrant workers visa application process.

It is alleged that the firm had milked more than Rs five billion (185 million ringgit) from Nepalis seeking work in Malaysia over the past five years.

Since May 16, the Nepal government has halted the process of sending migrant workers to Malaysia due to high cost for immigration security approval, bio-medical checkup and other payments for paperwork.

Nepal and Malaysian governments are gearing up to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) soon to resolve the issue of migrant worker.