MALAYSIA and Indonesia should look at allowing Indonesian domestic helpers to work part-time to help prospective employers, save on cost said the Malaysian Maid Employers Association (Mama)

Association president Engku Ahmad Fauzi Engku Muhsein told The Malaysian Insight that Malaysia and Indonesia can use the Grab business model as an example to start the scheme, adding that the RM15,000 payment to acquire a domestic helper is too high.

His comments today came after the countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the recruitment and protection of Indonesian domestic helpers in Malaysia, on April 1.

“The minimum salary for a domestic helper is now RM1,500. This is excluding Social Security Organisation (Socso) or Employee Provident Fund (EPF) payments. Added to which, the maid is staying in the (employer’s) house, who provides food and electricity.”

“To acquire a domestic helper, a person must pay RM15,000, which is a large sum of money. I always asked, why are we paying RM15,000?

“Does that guarantee the maid’s work quality, what happens if she leaves or runs away in the middle of her contract, or steals from the employer? We need to know the details,” he said.

Engku Ahmad Fauzi said it would be a good option to explore the possibility of working out part-time contracts.

“The government can always come up with other initiatives together with maid agencies, such as allowing them to work as part-timers, just like a Grab service where you hire a car when you need it but with more detailed security and protection to both employee and the maid.”

“By having this system, an employer does not need to pay a huge fee to bring someone from Indonesia. Employers don’t have to pay RM1,500 a month.

“They can pay by the hour and the domestic helper does not have to stay with their employer.”

“With the right regulation and monitoring this can guarantee the maid’s wellbeing, including safety,” he said.

On Friday, Human Resources Minister M. Saravanan and his Indonesian counterpart, Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah signed an MOU for the recruitment and protection of Indonesian domestic helpers in Malaysia.

Details in the MOU include capping the cost of bringing in domestic helpers at RM15,000 (to be reviewed every three months) with salary to be before the seventh day of each month by electronic bank transfer, plus Socso contributions.

Additionally, each domestic helper will serve a household with a maximum of six people and helpers are to attend induction courses to educate them on their rights and how to avoid exploitation. 

Workers will also have a special mobile phone app, Working for Workers, which will give them an avenue to voice complaints regarding shelter, food and their rights, without having to be physically present at the Labour Office.

Previously, Indonesia ambassador Hermano told Free Malaysia Today that maid recruitment agencies should only charge about RM8,000 at the most for services.

He was referring to a report which said the agents in Jakarta used to ask for between RM10,000 and RM12,000 in the past and this he said was also too high.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Association for Foreign Maid Agencies (Papa) president Jeffrey Foo hoped that an amicable solution for maid agency fees can be reached soon.

Foo agreed that RM15,000 was too high, noting that Hermano’s proposal is a fairer solution.

“It is RM15, 000 now, but it cannot be more than that. We appreciate the ambassador’s sentiment. We feel that RM8, 000 is already reasonable,” he said.

However, Foo expressed worry with the One Channel System portal, saying that it should only be a processing system for application instead of payment collection, training and quarantine arrangements.

The system would require recruitment agencies to make payments through the portal before receiving any worker biodata.

According to Foo, the portal’s service provider could not provide any assurance about the warranty or compensation should there be a failure to deliver on the part of Indonesian recruitment agencies.

Foo also said the requirement for a full payment to be made in advance, would hinder a number of Malaysian recruitment agencies, which have been near bankrupted following the pandemic.

“We are against this system because we are still unclear about its effectiveness. There are several problems that need to be answered. Our worry is that this system can lead to a scandal,” he added.

The system is one of the key points of the MOU that has been agreed upon by both governments. – April 4, 2022.