INDONESIA has no qualms if Malaysia wants to cancel the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Indonesian workers, its ambassador Hermano said.

Speaking to Berita Harian, Hermano said the MOU should have been adhered to by Malaysia and Indonesia as both parties had agreed to the terms and conditions.

“It’s simple. The MOU should have been adhered to as both governments agreed to sign it. If one party breaches it, just cancel it,” Berita Harian quoted him as saying.

“If you don’t agree with the MOU, then terminate it.”

According to the Malay daily, Hermano suggested that Putrajaya submit a letter to the Indonesian embassy to cancel the agreement. 

On Tuesday, it was reported that Indonesia had temporarily frozen the process of workers entering Malaysia due to a breach in the MOU on domestic workers signed between the two countries three months ago.

“The minister has been informed of our intention to reinstate a temporary freeze on the recruitment of Indonesian labour into all sectors in Malaysia immediately,” Hermano said.

He said all recruitment agencies in Indonesia have been informed and will comply with the directive.

He said Indonesia has solid evidence that Putrajaya has been using the Maid Online System (MOS) in the recruitment of Indonesian domestic workers, which is a breach of the MOU.

“We have solid proof that the Immigration Department, under the Home Affairs Ministry, continued to use the MOS to facilitate the recruitment of Indonesian domestic workers into Malaysia,” he said.

In March, the Malaysian and Indonesian governments reached an agreement on the final draft of an MOU on the placement and protection of Indonesian domestic workers in Malaysia.

Indonesia’s Manpower Ministry said the schedule for signing the agreement between minister Ida Fauziyah and her Malaysian counterpart, M. Saravanan, is being determined.

The MOU agreed on salaries, weekly and annual leave entitlements, a ban on withholding passports, the right to communicate and only one domestic worker per household of six people. – July 14, 2022.