MALAYSIANS seeking domestic workers have turned their attention to the Philippines to address a 50,000 shortfall in headcount nationwide, following the government’s labour dispute with Indonesia, recruitment agencies said.

“It is understood that some employers who previously hired Indonesian maids have switched to the Philippines,” Malaysian National Association of Employment Agencies (Pikap) president Fiona Low said.

Although Malaysia has reopened its borders since April 1, the migrant worker application processes are still in the preliminary stages, Low said.

“In April, after the government and Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), we made job orders in May, but the procedure is slow.”

Low said the recent dispute with Indonesia over Malaysia’s online system for maids has not helped, although Human Resources Minister M. Saravanan hoped it will be resolved soon.

“From the information provided by each member (agency), it is estimated that there are 40,000 to 50,000 families in Malaysia who are still waiting for their domestic workers since the outbreak of the pandemic.

“However, following the delay, some families have already turned to Filipino maids.”

Malaysian Association of Employment Agencies (Papa) president Foo Yong Hooi said that currently agencies who apply through formal channels can only rely on the Philippines.

“Due to the Indonesian situation, we are confused about the whole process and the problems with the maid online system.”

He also estimates that there are 50,000 households in the country that need domestic helpers.

Malaysia and Indonesia formally signed the MOU on the Employment and Protection of Indonesian Domestic Helpers in Malaysia on April 1 this year.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the Independence Palace in Jakarta.

According to the MOU, agencies will implement various measures to take care of the welfare of domestic helpers, including paying social insurance, and ensuring that salaries are paid through e-Wages, that is, no later than the seventh day of each month.

Workers will also be entitled to one day off a week and can lodge complaints online through e-aduan.

However, on July 13, Indonesia accused Malaysia of violating the MOU, and Jakarta halted the process.

Indonesia’s ambassador to Malaysia, Hermono, also said Jakarta has no concerns about cancelling the deal altogether.

He said Indonesia had conclusive evidence that Putrajaya had violated the MOU by using the Maid Online System (SMO) when hiring Indonesian maids.

On July 19, Saravanan said that Malaysia agreed in principle to integrate the system of hired maids, expressing confidence the dispute was only temporary.

Meanwhile, Low also said that Indonesian workers are popular with employers because they can communicate in Bahasa Malaysia, but some employers still hire domestic workers of different nationalities according to their needs.

She said that although the government allows migrant workers from 15 countries of origin, not every country has the infrastructure to do this.

“Among them, only the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka have exported domestic workers to Malaysia.

“Sri Lanka does not have many and it is impossible for Cambodia to provide large numbers to work in Malaysia.

“After Cambodia opened up, investors are flocking to the country to start manufacturing industries and as such the labour force does not have to come here for work.

“The same is true in Vietnam. Ten years ago, many people came to Malaysia to work, but now the local development is very good, there are plenty of job opportunities, and the salary is higher than ours,” Low said.

Foo pointed out that the government should take the initiative to resolve the issues quickly.

“In fact, we’ve all been emphasising the need to add more source countries, but we don’t see any progress from the government’s end.” – July 25, 2022.