Portal KSM

Blame game won’t solve maids issue
The Star:19/07/2010

The ball is now back at the feet of the Malaysia-Indonesia joint working group to find the answer to the outstanding domestic help issue.

THE freeze on the supply of Indonesian maids should have ended this month. The memorandum of understanding between Malaysia and Indonesia would have been inked.

But it is not meant to be. The signing of the MoU on maids recruitment between Indonesia and Malaysia will now need a bit more time to be finalised.

When Human Resource Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam announced last week the signing has been postponed, the Indonesian media quickly blames Malaysia for stalling negotiation.

The truth is, Indonesia has just submitted its counter-proposal 10 days ago on the cost structure to bring in maids from Indonesia.

These include standardising agents fee, transportation, training for maids and documentation (medical check-up, passport etc). It does not include maids’ minimum wage.

Malaysian employers, for far too long, have been complaining that the cost has escalated way too much just to employ maids from Indonesia. Each employer has to fork out between RM7,000 and RM8,000.

The agents from both sides of the border have been profiteering because they know employers are at their mercy.

Agents also claimed they incur extra cost as they have to travel the vast Indonesian landscape to get maids for Malaysians.

Indonesia froze its supply of maids to Malaysia in June 2009, following a number of maid abuse cases and the lack of benefits, including a minimum monthly salary and request for a day off in a week.

That Indonesian decision caught Malaysia by surprise because the freeze was implemented almost immediately.

Some Malaysians have resorted to hiring maids illegally, something which the Indonesian authorities are concerned about as they claimed that these maids would have no protection.

And just when many thought the freeze would continue, leaders of the two countries who met in Putrajaya in May agreed that the moratorium will be lifted in two months.

A Letter of Intent on amendments to the MoU on the Recruitment and Placement of Maids from Indonesia was signed after the retreat, witnessed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The negotiations are supposed to give a new dimension to the employment of domestic help in Malaysia on revised terms.

The MoU is meant to put everything in black and white. It is not just to protect maids but also to recognise the rights of their employers.

While Indonesia is demanding a minimum wage for maids, a day off weekly and maids get to keep their own passports, Malaysia wants the interest of employers be taken into account too.

These include a fair price to bring in the maid, a guarantee that the maids will not run away and that they are given adequate training to do housework.

The Government is trying to bring down the cost to reflect the actual fair cost.

Based on Malaysian calculations, the figure should be slashed by half from what most Malaysians are paying now.

Both countries want to protect the interest of their citizens.

Blaming anyone and accusing certain parties of delaying negotiations will not help matters.

Hopefully the joint working group will get their act together and work out the details.

A positive outcome must follow soon. The clock is ticking.