Indonesia not lifting ban on maids anytime soon - Malaysian households will not be getting any quick relief from the shortage of domestic helpers

Indonesia not lifting ban on maids anytime soon
By AMY CHEW
sunday@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian households will not be getting any quick relief from the shortage of domestic helpers.

There are no signs Indonesia and Malaysia will resume talks anytime soon to resolve issues on the placement and protection of domestic helpers.

“We don’t have any dates as to when the talks will resume,” Indonesian Manpower and Trans­migration Ministry’s spokesman Suhartono Sail said in a phone interview from Jakarta.

Indonesia placed a moratorium on sending domestic helpers to Malaysia on June 26, 2009 after a series of high-profile incidents of maid abuse which raised a huge public outcry in Indonesia.

The Ministry also warned that Indonesian domestic workers cannot be placed in Malaysia as long as the moratorium is in place.

“If they (domestic workers) continue to go to work in Malaysia, it will surely not be through legal mechanisms.

“When the Indonesian worker is illegal and undocumented, it will have implications on the protection of her rights should she encounter any trouble,” said Suhartono.

He said the Indonesian government will not be lifting the ban until the MoU regulating domestic helpers has been amended to provide greater protection for them.

The two countries have met four times, the latest meeting was on Aug 23 last year in Jakarta, under the Joint Working Group (JWG) to negotiate on the MoU. Since then, talks have stalled.