INDONESIAN ambassador Hermono has criticised Malaysia’s refusal to adhere to the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Indonesian maids, calling it a “disgrace”.
In an interview with the Free Malaysia Today (FMT) news portal, Hermono said Indonesia had imposed a temporary freeze on all Indonesian workers entering Malaysia since yesterday (July 12) due to the immigration department’s continued use of the Maid Online System (MOS) to facilitate the recruitment of Indonesian maids.
The MOS recruitment system is seen by local activists and immigration experts as a tool that facilitates trafficking and forced labour, said news reports.
According to the ambassador continued use of MOS was a “total breach” of the MOU on the placement and protection of Indonesian maids.
The MOU was signed on April 1, 2022 in Jakarta with Indonesian president Joko Widodo and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob in attendance.
“What’s the point of signing this MoU in front of my president if it is not honoured?” Hermono said to FMT.
“Ismail is the one who wanted our president to witness the signing, and he agreed. You would think that with the presence of the (Malaysian) prime minister and the (Indonesian) president, all parties would honour the MoU – but the reality is far from it.
“Our president witnessed the MoU … But now … What’s the point? This is a disgrace to our president.”
Hermono further noted that the One Channel System (OCS) that was introduced in the MOU had continued to be bypassed by the MOS, which allowed Indonesian workers to enter the country using a tourist visa before applying for a work permit – a practice which Jakarta wanted to end due to the risk of forced labour.
Under the MOU, the republic requires its recruitment to be only done through the OCS.
The ambassador also pointed out that the Indonesian government had decided on the temporary freeze of migrant workers to Malaysia following a virtual consultation session he had attended with the country’s foreign ministry and manpower ministry officials yesterday.
He said that while the country had halted the processing of new requests from Indonesians who are looking to work in Malaysia, those who are already in the pipeline would go through.
According to the FMT report, around 15,000 to 20,000 applications have been received with around 10,000 applications from the plantation and manufacturing sectors.
While Hermono acknowledged that he was not thrilled with the latest development, he felt that he had no choice if he wanted to protect the welfare of the workers.
“We need assurances from the Malaysian government that they are going to stop using the MOS. If Malaysia gives such an assurance, we will lift the ban,” he was reported as saying.
“I’m not happy with this, but we have to do this. If not, we will never solve this problem.”
Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan confirmed receiving a letter from Indonesian authorities informing him of the freeze.
He also told reporters he would discuss the matter with the Home Ministry, which oversees the immigration department. – July 13, 2022
Main photo credit: FMT
