Malaysia and Indonesia to sign ‘maid MOU’ tomorrow

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and Indonesia will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the employment and protection of Indonesian domestic servants (PDI) tomorrow, says Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan.

He said he would sign the MOU with his Indonesian counterpart, Minister of Manpower Ida Fauziyah, in Jakarta.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Indonesian President Joko Widodo are expected to witness the MOU signing, he said in a statement here yesterday, reported Bernama.

Saravanan said the first PDI MOU, which expired in 2011, was signed in 2006 and renewed in 2016.

“However, after that period, the PDI MOU could not be renewed as no consensus was reached by the two countries,” he said.

Saravanan added that as at February, there were 352,469 Indonesian workers in the country with 98,421 of them involved in the plantation sector, followed by manufacturing (67,217), construction (65,660), domestic servants (58,438), agriculture (43,953) and services (18,779).

On March 15, Saravanan was reported to have said that the PDI MOU signing ceremony scheduled to take place on March 18 was postponed to April 1 to allow the two national leaders to be present to witness the event.

On March 20, it was reported that both countries have agreed on salaries, weekly and annual leave entitlement, the right to communicate, a ban on withholding passports and on one PDI only serving a household not exceeding six people, among others.

A “one-channel system” will be introduced to integrate the PDI placement process starting from recruitment, preparation, departure, placement and returning, and monitored by the government.