PETALING JAYA: Besides reducing the recruitment fees for Indonesian domestic workers, the Malaysian government should also improve the procurement process and tackle the issue of illegal agents, say employment agencies.
They argue that the prominence of illegal agents as well as a sub-par online recruitment means that desperate employers have had to look for faster ways to get their helpers.
This comes as Malaysian officials prepare to meet their Indonesian counterparts this month on the issue. Welcoming the proposed measure to reduce the costs of hiring Indonesian domestic workers, National Association of Human Resources Malaysia president Zarina Ismail said the government should speed up the hiring process for employers.
“The current (hiring) process can see employers waiting for up to over four months to legally recruit a foreign domestic worker.
“This can see some employers who are unable to wait that long look for other recruitment avenues.
“They then turn towards illegal recruitment agents as such advertisements are rampant across social media platforms,” she said in an interview.
The current procurement process for Indonesian domestic workers also see desperate employers paying more than RM15,000 to get their helpers as soon as possible.
“The illegal agents don’t follow the guidelines set by the government and can bring in the workers almost immediately. This prospect appeals to desperate employers but the issue is – what is the government doing to clamp down on them (illegal agents)?
“Given Malaysia’s constant recalibration programmes, these employers also capitalise on the situation and have the ‘illegal’ helpers legalised in this manner,” she said.
A seamless and efficient digital procurement system, said Zarina, could act as a solution to the matter as well as benefit employers.
“Factors such as the employers’ plight in desperately needing foreign domestic workers should be considered when looking at ways to improve the current recruitment process,” she said.
Malaysian Maid Employers Association president Engku Ahmad Fauzi Engku Muhsein said the proposal to reduce the cost of hiring Indonesian domestic workers was appropriate and prudent.
“The sourcing and processing costs for the workers, among others, should not cost more than RM10,000,” he said.
The agencies were responding to the announcement by Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar that the Federal Government was hoping to lower the cost of bringing in Indonesian domestic workers, adding that he would be holding discussions with his Indonesian counterpart Dr Ida Fauziyah in the Joint Working Group Meeting later this month.
A senior manager, who only wanted to be known as Chong, said he hoped that the costs could be lowered as he was looking to hire a domestic worker in the coming months.
“My father has recently become bedridden and having a helper can make things easier for the family.
“Some of my acquaintances have mentioned that they paid upwards of RM15,000 to acquire their helper but this is too much for me.
“Hopefully, the waiting period (for the helper) is also shorter, with a more seamless process for prospective employers,” he said.
In April last year, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the employment and protection of Indonesian domestic servants was signed, capping the total cost for Malaysian employers at RM15,000.
Despite this, there are still reports of some employers having paid as high as RM20,000 for their maids.
