KUALA LUMPUR: No date has been set for signing an agreement between Malaysia and Indonesia on the supply of domestic maids, the Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia said today.
The ambassador, Hermono, told FMT that only 70% of matters have been resolved.
He said Indonesia was surprised by an announcement last week that a memorandum of understanding on the intake of domestic workers will be signed today.
Hermono said no date or any confirmation of the signing had been discussed when human resources ministers of the two countries met on Jan 24.
Malaysia’s human resources minister M Saravanan had said on Jan 19 that he would meet Indonesian manpower minister Ida Fauziyah to finalise details of the MoU which would be signed on Feb 7-8 in Bali.
Hermono said the major issue that has not been resolved was to do with visas for the maids.
Indonesia wanted to abolish the system by which Indonesians entered Malaysia on a tourist visa and then apply for conversion to a work permit.
“We want this abolished as it has led to trafficking and abuses of our citizens as most of them are not trained and do not know how to handle themselves because they are from rural villages in Indonesia.
“This method leads to direct recruitment, which means our government does not have the records of the workers and who they are working for. It completely bypasses the Indonesian government,” he said, adding they also would not know the details of the contract.
Hermono said another concern was that representatives of the home ministry and the immigration department should be included at a meeting planned for Feb 10. “We have asked for the Malaysian delegation to include officers from these agencies, so it has not been confirmed yet,” he said.
Hermono said they wanted Malaysian enforcement authorities to be fully aware of the clauses in the MoU as the country did not want its citizens to be abused like in the past. - FMT
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