Malaysia is one of Asia's biggest employers of foreign labour. But recently, cases of deaths, abuse and forced labour have come to light. What is going on? Who is protecting these migrant workers?
BY P. ARUNA
PETALING JAYA: The association tasked with setting the terms for the recruitment of Indonesian maids has assured employers of “fair play”.
Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies (Papa) president Jeffrey Foo said employers need not worry about paying exorbitant amounts.
“We will ensure that the deal will be reasonable and fair to all parties.
“Our main focus will be to make the process more organised, transparent and set rules to ensure that agencies, employers and maids are all protected,’’ said Foo.
Foo said Papa and its Indonesian counterpart were already discussing “how to restore order” into the process.
“Presently, it is not compulsory to have insurance for the maid.
“If there is an accident, the maid is not protected,” he said.
The new MoU with Indonesia was expected to be inked before Chinese New Year next January, he said, adding: “After that, it will take about two months for us to bring in the maids.”
On Thursday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced that recruitment agencies in Malaysia and Indonesia would be tasked to resolve the Indonesian maid supply problem.
He said Papa and its Indonesian counterpart Asosiasi Perusahaan Jasa Tenaga Kerja Indonesia (Apjati) would be asked to work on a new MoU.
Following the announcement, employer and consumer groups expressed concern that the cost of hiring maids would shoot up as just two parties would be involved in setting the terms.
On Dec 1, 2011, both governments signed an MoU to lift the moratorium on the supply of Indonesian domestic workers which was imposed by the republic in June 2009.
It set the cost to recruit Indonesian maids at RM4,511 – with RM2,711 to be paid by the employer and RM1,800 by the domestic helper.
However, it was announced later that the hiring fee would be set at RM8,000.
Foo said since the MoU was signed in 2011, only 660 Indonesian maids had been brought into Malaysia.
Meanwhile, a check with maid agencies here showed that most no longer dealt with recruiting Indonesian domestic workers.
Most offered Filipino maids, with agency fees to be paid exceeding RM12,300.
Several agencies said they had stopped taking in Indonesian maids “as they are very difficult to get”.
Source: The Star
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