Malaysia still waiting for Indonesia to end freeze on maids

Malaysia still waiting for Indonesia to end freeze on maids

Agreement was also reached on the salary for maids which should be
determined by the current market situation, but the Indonesian government will
 ensure that the salary offered by Malaysian employers is not less than the
minimum salary in Indonesia.


 

The government is still waiting for
Indonesia to end the freeze on sending maids to Malaysia, said Human Resource
Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam.


He said athough the memorandum of understanding (MoU) to lift the freeze was
signed by both countries at the end of May this year, Indonesia had yet to
implement it.

“I had signed the MoU for Malaysia in Jakarta while Indonesia was
represented by my counterpart Muhaimin Iskandar, with Indonesia agreeing to end
the freeze on sending maids here (to Malaysia).”


Dr Subramaniam was speaking at a press conference after announcing an
allocation of RM1.7 million for the building of a new block for Sekolah Jenis
Kebangsaan (SJK) Tamil Ladang Batu Kawan, here, today.


He said his ministry did not know the reason for the delay in lifting the
freeze by the Indonesian government although the MoU was signed three months
ago.


Among the conditions agreed upon in the MoU are that Malaysian employers are
guaranteed of getting a replacement maid or compensation on the deposit from the
employment agency involved if the maid runs away, is inefficient or fails the
medical test within six months.


Agreement was also reached on the salary for maids which should be
determined by the current market situation, but the Indonesian government will
ensure that the salary offered by Malaysian employers is not less than the
minimum salary in Indonesia.


On the SJK (T) Ladang Batu Kawan which has 122 pupils, Dr Subramaniam said
the construction of the new building was expected to start at the end of this
year and completed at the end of 2012.
He said the project would include such facilities as a sports field,
library, computer lab and classrooms.

Dr Subramaniam said that since 2009 until now, RM236 million had been
allocated for the development of Tamil schools nationwide.
He said 73 new buildings were constructed while the government had also
allocated RM13.5 million to equip the schools with basic facilities like
furniture.

 

— BERNAMA