Malaysia Seeks Quick Resolution in Migrant Worker Recruitment from Indonesia

KOMPAS.com - Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has instructed the Malaysian human resources and home affairs ministries to resolve the issue on the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the recruitment of Indonesian migrant workers soon.

“I don’t want (the problem) to drag on. I have asked them to solve it soon because I am afraid if we don’t do that, we will have a problem with Indonesia,” Ismail said as quoted by State News Antara via official news agency Bernama on Friday, July 15.

He denied that the MoU will be canceled, State News Antara added.

Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia Hermono confirmed on Wednesday, July 13, that the Indonesian government had decided to temporarily stop migrant worker placements in all sectors in Malaysia.

Also read: Indonesia to Temporarily Halt Sending New Migrant Workers to Malaysia

The decision will remain in place until Malaysia commits to halting the recruitment of Indonesian domestic workers through the Maid Online system, he said.

Indonesian Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah said the decision was taken since Malaysia did not comply with an agreement signed with Indonesia on April 1, 2022, on using the one-channel system for worker recruitment.

The Indonesian mission in Malaysia found evidence of a recruitment system made outside the agreement between the two countries, she said. The system is under the purview of the Malaysian Home Affairs Ministry through the Malaysian Immigration Office.

The Indonesian mission found evidence showing Malaysia is still using the direct hiring platform to recruit workers, said director of Indonesian citizens and entities’ protection at the Foreign Affairs Ministry Judha Nugraha during an online media briefing on Thursday.

Also read: Malaysia Set to Reopen International Borders From March 1

Following this, the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur conveyed the decision to the Malaysian Human Resources Ministry.

“Specifically, this direct hiring makes our migrant workers vulnerable to exploitation because the recruitment mechanism is not based on Law No. 18/2017 on the protection of migrant workers... Consequently, our migrant workers sent to Malaysia did not pass through the legal phases,” Nugraha explained.

The two countries had signed the MoU when the Malaysian Prime Minister visited Jakarta on April 1. The agreement covers a single-channel system for recruiting, supervising, and protecting Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia.

Source: State News Antara