KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 – Indonesia has ordered its employment agencies to stop sending maids to work in Malaysia because of a flood of complaints that they are being abused by employers here.
Indonesian Manpower Minister Erman Suparno said in Jakarata today that the ban would take effect tomorrow and would remain in place until adequate safeguards are introduced by Malaysian authorities.
The ban is the latest spat in a spate of tiffs between the two countries in recent weeks.
Earlier this month, Indonesian lawmakers accused the Malaysian navy of encroaching on its waters near the Ambalat oil and gas block in the Celebes Sea, an area over which sovereignty is being disputed by both countries.
Suparno said delegations from the two countries are scheduled to hold talks on July 15 to discuss various problems facing Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia.
At the meeting, the Indonesian delegation will propose reviewing several clauses in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the manpower field both sides signed early this year.
The clauses are among others related to protection of Indonesian migrant workers and their rights as well as improvement of their salaries.
More than 300,000 Indonesian women work as maids in Malaysia, with up to 3,000 new maids heading here every month from the republic.
But there have been an increasing number of complaints that maids are being abused.
Indonesian authorities say maids file up to 150 complaints every month over a variety of abuses from ill treatment to being overworked and also for unpaid salaries.
In some cases, Indonesian maids have alleged physical abuse.
In the most recent case highlighted by local media, an Indonesian maid claimed she had been scalded and beaten by her employer.
“'We want to protect our workers from violations of contracts and physical abuse,” Suparno told reporters in Jakarta today.
The decision to ban Indonesian maids comes even as Malaysia announced new legislation that would allow maids a mandatory day off every week.
But Malaysian officials have also said that the country may have to face the reality of being forced to source maids from other countries. - The Malaysian Insider
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