Indonesia To Send 8,000 Maids To Malaysia

By Ahmad Fuad Yahya JAKARTA, Jan 6 (Bernama) -- Indonesia is preparing up to 8,000 maids to be sent to Malaysia in March following the revocation of its moratorium on despatching workers in the informal sector in early December. Head of the Indonesian National Manpower Placement and Protection Agency (BNP2TKI), Jumhur Hidayat said between 5,000 to 8,000 housemaids were being trained for the purpose. Whilst Indonesian workers dominate various sectors in the Malaysian workforce, the domestic help sector was the most problematic one, a BNP2TKI news release here said. "With the cooperation of the government of Malaysia, there will be better protection of Indonesian housemaids who will also get to hold their passports and enjoy off days and higher wages. With this development, the working environment for Indonesian maids has vastly improved," he said. Indonesia imposed a moratorium on the despatching of maids to Malaysia in June 2009 and it was withdrawn on Dec 1. The revocation of the moratorium was the outcome of the close cooperation between Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in their meetings in Pulau Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara and in Bali last year. "Now we will deal with the matter together unlike in the past where the problems were settled in isolation," said Jumhur. Meanwhile, BNP2TKI Placement Division deputy head, Ade Adam Noch said the work contract used in Malaysia would become the best model for housemaids to be sent to other countries as well. Currently, only work agreements issued by the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur which have been verified by the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta can used. The new Malaysian work agreement was verified by both governments through the Joint Task Force, said Ade Adam. -- BERNAMA Malaysia