Malaysia hopes Indonesia will not cease sending maids

Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the risk assessment recommended that countries should actively target the small sub-set of NPOs most vulnerable to terrorism financing

BAGAN DATUK: Malaysia hopes that Indonesia will not cease sending domestic workers here as the recent case of a maid who died after being allegedly abused by her employers is an isolated one.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (pic) said such drastic action by Indonesia would be detrimental to both countries.

He added that he would meet Indonesian Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhammad Hanif Dhakiri in the near future to discuss the matter and find the best possible solution to the issue.

"We (Malaysia) express deep regret if the media report about Indonesia intending to stop sending its domestic workers here due to the isolated maid abuse case is true.

"In fact, we know that we have certain SOP (standard operating procedures) that must be adhered to by employers, and the Malaysian government will never protect any employer who is found to have acted cruelly (against their maids)," he said after a walkabout at Dataran Bagan Datuk here on Saturday.

Indonesia's news portal (Sindo News) reported that Jakarta is considering not allowing its nationals to be sent to Malaysia as domestic workers following the recent death of Indonesian Adelina Lisao, 26, who was allegedly abused at her employer's house in Bukit Mertajam, Penang.

"The case will be prosecuted and the trial will take place in Malaysia. Indonesia should have confidence that this country is different from other countries where such cases (maid abuse cases) occur," he said.

Meanwhile, Dr Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Home Minister, said that Malaysia had the lowest percentage of maid abuse cases in comparison to other countries.

"It means that we are concerned about the welfare of maids from Indonesia," he said.

He added that his ministry, together with the Human Resource Ministry, would continue to monitor if there were complaints about maid abuse in the country.

"We will look back at the agreement between the employer and the employee and if there are flaws in the regulations, we will do a review including on the SOP," he added.

Adeline died while being treated at the Bukit Mertajam Hospital on Feb 11. She had suffered severe injuries to her head and face, and her hands and legs were also injured. - Bernama