PUTRAJAYA: The hiring of foreign domestic helpers through dubious means should not be encouraged, says Datuk Seri M. Saravanan.
The Human Resources Minister said with foreign domestic helpers now starting to enter the country, he did not want desperate employers to do anything bad, he said after launching the Keluarga Malaysia Vehicle Insurance Financing programme on Friday (July 1).
However, he did not specify what action could be taken against employers who resort to questionable means to get a maid.
He was asked to comment on a report carried by The Star on Thursday (June 30) that some employers said they were desperate and have resorted to using "unofficial channels" to obtain a maid.
This was allegedly because employers were fed up of waiting for maids, three months after Malaysia and Indonesia signed a deal over to allow Indonesian domestic workers back to work here.
Some have resorted to getting their maids via social media and freelance agents as they could not wait any longer.
On May 31, it was announced that the first batch of domestic workers, who were expected to arrive in Malaysia, had been postponed.
Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia Hermono said the pilot batch of PDI following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between both countries will only arrive in mid-July.
