PETALING JAYA: With the National Recovery Council (NRC) proposing to open the country’s borders to foreign visitors by Jan 1, 2022 and a travel corridor to be implemented with Indonesia in stages, employers are urging the government to unfreeze the recruitment of foreign workers, especially domestic helpers.

       They say that families are in dire straits without their services.

       Julian K. Tan, a consulting director of an employment agency, said that the demand for foreign domestic helpers was even higher now as many had gone home during the pandemic after completing their contract.

       Many employers had tried to get local helpers, but this was futile as most Malaysians did not want to take up such jobs and those who did were mostly people over 50 years old, he said.

       He added that employers also had a hard time retaining them long-term as some would work only for a few days.

       “Many working couples have endured a protracted period of hardship in juggling work and caring for the young and the old.

       “Working women are facing a predicament and some highly qualified managers, executives, professionals, and even support staff, may have to quit their jobs if domestic help is unavailable.

       “We hope the government will look into the plight of working couples and allow them to recruit foreign domestic helpers, as allowed before the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Tan.

       He also called on the government to speed up on finalising the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the recruitment and protection of Indonesian domestic workers (PDI) in Malaysia.

       Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had recently said the MOU finalisation was currently underway between the Human Resource Ministry and Indonesia’s Manpower Ministry, and it is believed that it would be resolved in the near future.

       In June last year, Human Resource Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan said the recruitment of foreign workers in all sectors was frozen until the end of 2020.

       In September this year, he said the freeze on foreign workers, including domestic workers, will be extended until Dec 31, 2021.

       Malaysian Maid Employers’ Association president Engku Ahmad Fauzi Engku Muhsein said domestic helpers were in demand during the pandemic but noted that not many locals were keen to take the job.

       “Some families still wants maids so that they can focus on their work-from-home duties without unnecessary interruption, while some have adjusted very well working from home with their families around them and have improvised without the need for maids,” he said.

       “Nevertheless, domestic workers are in demand, foreign or local. However, locals are still not so keen,” he added.

       Engku Ahmad Fauzi added that the PDI MOU issue must be resolved as soon as possible, adding that the Covid-19 standard operating procedure (SOP) for the employment of foreign domestic workers must also be clearly established and incorporated into the MOU.