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
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