Maid freeze until new MoU

PUTRAJAYA: The Home Ministry will not approve new applications for Indonesian maids until a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the matter is signed.
Its secretary-general Datuk Seri Mahmood Adam said Malaysian employers would just have to bear with the delay as both countries have agreed to freeze new approval for Indonesian maids until a new agreement was signed.
He said the delay not deliberate as the ministry understood the difficulties faced by prospective employers, especially those with special needs.
He said both countries had agreed to hold discussions and sign a new MoU following Indonesia’s demands to look into a number of issues relating to the employment of their domestic maids here, including on the issue of a weekly day off.
“The next meeting between Malaysia and Indonesia on the issue will hopefully be held here soon, and we are hoping that we can conclude all the discussions and sign the new MoU then,” he said when contacted.
He was responding to numerous complaints by the public recently over the delays in approving applications for domestic maids.
Mahmood said Malaysia was still waiting for Indonesia to confirm the date for the next meeting and that the MoU could only be signed if both sides agreed to all the terms.
He asked those applying for maids from Indonesia to be patient as the Government was trying its best to have the problems resolved as soon as possible.
He said applicants could also opt to hire maids from other countries as the current freeze only applied to maids from Indonesia.