Call to let new maids enter Malaysia too

Dire need: Foreign domestic helpers have been hard to come by, with some Malaysian families resorting to advertising for such jobs illegally.

PETALING JAYA: Relieved at the government’s decision to consider allowing stranded foreign maids to re-enter Malaysia, employment agencies are contending that this should also cover new domestic helpers whose permits were approved before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Association of Employment Agencies (Papa) president Datuk Foo Yong Hooi said it was good that the government was open to reviewing the entry of stranded maids on a case-by-case basis.

“At least it’s not a blanket closure. We are looking forward to a clearer SOP for Malaysians whose maids have been stranded in other countries, ” he said, adding that previously this was available for maids of expatriates and Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) visa holders.

Foo urged the government to consider allowing new batches of foreign maids to enter and work in Malaysia.

“There are families who have had no choice but to send their elderly parents to aged care homes.

“The family members cannot visit their elderly parents, as such facilities impose strict SOP to minimise the risk of Covid-19.

“This is sad for the elderly parents who have to see their family through the fences of the homes, ” he said, estimating that about 2,000 new maids were entering the country each month before the pandemic.

Foo said the situation was dire as some recruiting agencies in source countries might have shuttered their businesses and the domestic helpers they had trained sent back to their hometowns.

He suggested that maids undergo a period of quarantine in their home countries as well as a further quarantine in Malaysia, and proposed that Malaysian foreign missions in those countries monitor the quarantine process.

Malaysian Maid Employers’ Association (Mama) president Engku Ahmad Fauzi Engku Muhsein said it was good that the government was open to looking into cases where foreign maids were stranded overseas.

On Thursday, Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said employers whose foreign domestic helpers were stranded overseas could apply to allow them to re-enter the country.

However, Ismail Sabri said the decision would be made at the discretion of the Immigration Department.

Flashback: Our report on last Tuesday.

The Star had front-paged a story about how foreign domestic helpers have been hard to come by, with some families resorting to advertising such jobs illegally on social media.

Justina Neo, the managing director of an employment agency, also appealed for fresh approvals to be allowed to enter the country.

“Based on what I read in the news, it appears that he was referring to domestic helpers who left Malaysia for a trip to their home country and are unable to return.

“The minister mentioned that these domestic helpers already have temporary work visit passes (PLKS), so likely he is referring to this particular group of people, ” said Neo.

Neo added that the agency received many calls about whether this applied to new batches of foreign domestic helpers approved by the Immigration Department before the pandemic.

“We are hoping that the government can consider cases of families who need new maids, and who already obtained approval before the pandemic and paid the levy to the government, ” she said.

A spokesperson from the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur said this year, there were 171 pending applications for domestic helpers.

“There are still many Indonesians who wish to come to Malaysia to work as domestic helpers, ” he said.

The spokesperson said there were also many cases where Indonesian domestic helpers in Malaysia were unable to return to their home country.

“This is because their employers are worried that they cannot find a replacement due to current travel restrictions, ” the spokesperson said.

A local woman who only wanted to be known as Hana said she was in desperate need of a domestic helper after her husband went overseas for work.

“I’m pregnant and have two children at home.

“As my husband is away for three months, I am the only adult in the house and I also have to work from home, so I desperately need another pair of hands in the house, ” said the data analyst in her 30s.

After her previous maid left, Hana decided to put the search for a replacement helper on hold.

“My previous domestic helper was not used to staying in a high-rise condominium so she went back to her agent.

“When I was searching for another maid, the trend that I have noticed is that many foreign domestic helpers had no permits.

“I didn’t want to run that risk, especially with the police roadblocks. And if anything untoward happened, I don’t want there to be bigger issues.

“I want to go through the proper way, and that is only possible when the borders are open and the Immigration Department can facilitate the process, ” she said.