KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies (Papa) yesterday urged the government to take the initiative to find out from the Indonesian government its actual demands on domestic worker export from the republic, rather than leaving the unresolved issue pending.
Papa acting president Jeffrey Foo said it had been more than three months since the protocol on the amendments to the 2006 memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in May but no Indonesian maids were coming in.
He said Papa had learned that one of the main hindrance to the Indonesian side enforcing the MoU was the pricing factor which the industry in Indonesia felt that the offered price stated in the protocol for Indonesian agents was far lower than their cost.
“Should there be any disagreements on the amended protocol of the MoU which was signed sometime ago, it should be solved by both countries immediately via the spirit of neighbourhood to make it enforceable.
“We hope our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak can intervene in this problem,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Foo also said the Indonesian maids were been brought in via Journey Performed Visas, resulting in the maids been exploited by unscrupulous agents and uncaring employers.
“The promised low fees structure never materialised, instead charges of RM11,000 to RM12,000 are being imposed on Malaysian employers,” he said.
Foo said the delay had resulted in the plight of Malaysian employers to suffer from paying a high price for a domestic workers through the direct hiring method whereas maid agencies suffered from no supply of domestic workers. — Bernama