Indonesian domestic helpers began arriving from July 1, says Saravanan

Human resource minister Datuk Seri M.Saravanan.

IPOH: Domestic helpers from Indonesia have started to come into Malaysia beginning July 1, says Datuk Seri M. Saravanan.

The Human Resources Minister said the helpers have started to come into the country in batches.

“Many people still prefer domestic helpers from Indonesia as compared to other countries.

“The Indonesian minister was supposed to come with the first batch, but unfortunately she had some other commitments, and has rescheduled her visit,” he told reporters after the ground breaking ceremony for a building for the Gopeng branch of the Tamil Youth Bell Club in Kopisan near Gopeng on Saturday (July 9).

Saravanan said although there were other source countries for domestic workers, people still preferred maids from Indonesia.

When asked about the numbers of domestic helpers from Indonesia that had arrived into the country since July 1, he said only the Home Affairs Ministry would have the numbers.

“My ministry only processes the documents, on the numbers that have come in, that list will be with the Home Affairs Ministry,”he added.

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.