Indonesia welcomes policy changes

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia and Indonesia discussed several issues including the cutting of time and costs related to the hiring of foreign workers, says Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

The Home Minister said Indonesia has welcomed the policy changes and the alignment of foreign worker management functions in Malaysia.

“Also discussed were the reduction of migration time and costs related to the hiring of foreign workers as well as optimising the use of digital technology for system integration and facilitating the monitoring of the workers,” he said in a statement yesterday.

The matter was discussed during his meeting with Indonesian Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah and Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly yesterday, among other things, in conjunction with the working visit of delegations from the Malaysian Home Ministry and the Human Resources Ministry.

Indonesia is the first source country for foreign workers visited by the delegations following the meeting between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Indonesian President Joko Widodo earlier this month.

During Anwar’s visit to Jakarta, several issues were addressed in his meeting with Joko, popularly known as Jokowi, involving the economy and bilateral investments, the development of Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara, border demarcation issues that had dragged on for 60 years and the issue of Indonesian manpower in Malaysia.

Malaysia and Indonesia have agreed to further strengthen the protection of migrant workers during the meet.

The government had earlier announced the easing of hiring rules for foreign workers in Malaysia by doing away with existing preconditions while allowing recruitment to be conducted on an as-needed basis.

Saifuddin Nasution said they also explained the policy changes in Malaysia on the alignment of the management of foreign workers including the Foreign Worker Employment Relaxation Plan and the extension of the Recalibration Plan for Illegal Immigrants 2.0.

Those initiatives, he said, are aimed at tackling manpower needs in critical sectors to drive the country’s economic development, adding that discussions will be held at the official level between the two countries.

He said the meeting with the Indonesian ministers also touched on the enforcement of immigration and labour laws involving Indonesian workers, the management of the repatriation of prisoners and immigration detainees as well as coordination actions to minimise the risk of foreign workers being taken advantage of by irresponsible parties.

The discussion also involved cooperation in immigration and border control to ensure the sovereignty and security of both countries, he added.