PETALING JAYA: Employers are hoping an amicable agreement between Malaysia and Indonesia will be reached soon to pave the way for a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) on domestic workers to be inked next month.
While Indonesia is an important labour source country, Malaysian employers are asking the Indonesian government to also consider the rights of employers, who have been jumping through many legal hoops over the years just to employ Indonesian workers.
Many employers have expressed concern over news that Indonesia will not supply new manpower to Malaysia if the MOU on the recruitment and placement of Indonesian domestic helpers fails to materialise in February.
A homemaker and business owner who only wanted to be known as Wan, 59, said she needed a maid to help with cleaning work and to look after her 82-year-old mother.
“I’ve had my fair share of troubles with maids in the last 20 years. Some ran away after I paid thousands to the agency, and some refused to work and would just play with their phones.
“I’ve also had maids who, before they go back to Indonesia, would secretly take my belongings like clothes, old gadgets or jewellery that they didn’t think I’d notice.
“It’s a lot of headache being an employer but I have no choice, I need help with cleaning and looking after my 82-year-old mother since my back is not in such a good condition and I can’t do heavy housework.
“So I really hope that the Indonesian and Malaysian governments can find an amicable solution, without sidelining the rights of employers like myself, who have spent so much money, time and effort to hire Indonesian workers and making sure that their welfare and needs are taken care of,” she said.
After her last maid went home at the end of last year, Wan said she has been searching high and low for a long-term domestic worker but has yet to find anyone who could commit to a long-term job.
As Wan is now without a maid, she has been making do by “borrowing” her neighbours’ and friends’ domestic workers for work and paying them on an hourly basis, between RM20 and RM25 per hour.
“The costs do run up to quite a lot every week but it has been impossible for us to legally hire a domestic worker or maid from overseas, and the ones we could sort out so far are all on a short-term basis.
She did mull transferring an existing helper who is legally working for another household to her employment, which is a legal alternative for Malaysian employers who want to hire helpers.
However, Wan ultimately decided against it as she was informed that it would cost tens of thousands of ringgit due to the maid shortage and high demand among other employers.
Like many other Malaysian Muslims, Wan preferred Indonesian or local maids due to the ease of language communication and religious reasons, but noted that it has also been difficult to find a Malaysian who would work as a long-term domestic helper.
Another employer who only wanted to be known as Tan, 73, hoped the plight of those waiting for years to hire maids would be seriously considered as the hiring freeze on domestic workers put in place during the pandemic had disrupted employers’ lives.
He said that if the MOU with Indonesia falls through, the maid shortage in Malaysia will be prolonged as the country is also not allowing maids from other source countries such as the Philippines to come in without any good reason.
“As an employer, we don’t wish to be exploitative. I hope the Indonesian government will consider this and be reminded that Malaysia already has many stringent rules and regulations, laws and also high fees for employers who wish to hire foreign domestic helpers.
“There are sufficient laws in place to protect both sides, in my opinion,” said the 73-year-old retiree.
He added that the government should also consider allowing maids from the Philippines to come in as the government there had no issues in sending their workers here if Malaysia were to open its borders to them.
“An interim measure is highly needed. There’s nothing stopping Filipinos from coming in, so why can’t they come?”