Cost of hiring Indonesian maids upped to RM8,000, Govt announces

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government has announced it will now cost RM8,000 to hire an Indonesian domestic helper.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who chaired the Cabinet Committee on Foreign Worker and Illegal Immigrants, said that the new rate was decided after considering all costs incurred in both countries.

"The RM8,000 was decided after considering the training cost of at least 200 hours, travel documentation, food and accommodation before being transferred to new employers, traveling costs, medical check-ups as well as payment to the respective governmental agencies from both countries," he said in Parliament on Monday.

It was reported that under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Malaysian and Indonesia Government 2011, the cost of recruiting Indonesian maids was set at RM4,511, where RM2,711 was paid by the employers while the remaining RM1,800 was paid by the domestic helper.

He said the changes of the structural cost would be discussed further by both governments.

"The details will be explained by the Human Resources Ministry after they receive approval from both sides," he said.

He said the new revised rate was reasonable compared to other countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong who were paying higher rates.

Muhyiddin added that the salary of Indonesian maids would not be bound by the Minimum Wages Act 2012 and would instead be based on current market prices and the employer.

The Government, he said, would also fully suspend the Journey Perform Visa (JP Visa) beginning Oct this year.

"Previously, the Immigration Department had allowed the issuance of JP Visa due to problems of supply of Indonesian maid based on cases by case basis, where only 290 were successfully recruited," he said. - Star