KUALA LUMPUR: Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein will personally monitor cases of abuse involving Indonesian maids from now on.
He said this was to ensure that there was no repeat of abuse cases and that those responsible were brought to justice as soon as possible.
“Our priority is to ensure their safety and that those who are on Malaysian soil are not taken advantage of.
“Everyone here deserves humane treatment and their rights must be taken care of,” he told reporters after a discussion and a visit to a shelter for maids at the Indonesian High Commission here yesterday.
Hishammuddin also expressed confidence that the problem of Indonesia’s freeze on its maids to Malaysia would be resolved soon given the good cooperation from both countries.
He said a task force set up on Nov 12 to resolve the cases of Indonesian maids seeking shelter at the embassy had borne fruit because 54 women had returned home since then.
“There are 140 women and six children currently seeking shelter at the embassy. The cases for 36 women are almost resolved while those for 56 others are still pending,” he said, adding that the task force’s role could be extended to assist other workers in the future.
Members of the task force, he said, would be expanded to include personnel from other agencies such as the Attorney-General’s Chambers to ensure speedy resolutions to problems.
“We want the A-G and court representatives to be involved as it may take years to wait for some outstanding cases to come to trial.
“For example, this maid Rohayu has been in the shelter for six years as her employer owes her more than RM30,000 in salary and she is still waiting for the trial.
“We need cooperation from the relevant authorities to speed things,” he said.
In Hishammuddin’s discussion with Indonesian Ambassador Tan Sri Da’i Bachtiar, both men discussed ways to enhance bilateral ties, strategies to assist Indonesian maids and workers, human-trafficking, cross border crime and ways to create a win-win situation for the two countries.
Da’i Bachtiar said Hishammuddin’s visit was an indication of the strong cooperation and ties between both countries.
Lauding the task force, he expressed hope for a quick resolution for the maids’ problems as “we do not want them to wait for years or months before they can go home.”
Hishammuddin’s discussion yesterday was a follow-up to the visit by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak last month.
The task force was set up following a meeting involving Hishammuddin, Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam and Indonesian Workforce and Transmigra-tion Minister A. Muhaimin Iskandar on Nov 12.
Indonesians make up more than 90% of the 280,000 foreign maids in Malaysia.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia said Wednesday it will set up a task force with Indonesia to look into the grievances of Indonesian domestic workers here and speed up court cases over abuse and non-payment.
Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the government is optimistic that Indonesia's ban on sending domestic workers to Malaysia, ordered in June after a spate of horrific assaults, will be lifted in the next few months.
He said the task force, which he will head and which will be staffed by officials from both countries, will look at how to expedite cases of non-payment of salaries and mistreatment of maids.
Hishammuddin said his first priority would be to help clear the 140 domestic workers and six children residing in a shelter in the compound of the Indonesian embassy in Kuala Lumpur, who are all waiting for court cases to be resolved.
"These problems, especially those faced by the embassy here, need to be addressed soon, that's why this special task force is being set up," he told reporters.
"The process takes too long sometimes, what we want to do is to expedite the process," he added. "We don't want anyone on Malaysian soil being taken advantage of."
Hishammuddin said the government is optimistic that the Indonesian ban on maids will be lifted soon once the two sides negotiate an agreement on wages and conditions.
"The memorandum is still in discussion, there is still a moratorium at the moment, we hope to resolve that soon within one or two months," he said.
Ambassador Da'i Bachtiar said the number of Indonesian maids working in Malaysia has dropped from 300,000 last year to around 230,000 at present.
The ban was triggered by a string of abuse cases including one where a Malaysian woman was charged with causing grievous bodily harm by beating her Indonesian maid and scalding her with boiling water.
One of Asia's largest importers of labour, Malaysia depends heavily on domestic workers, mainly from Indonesia, but has been criticised for not introducing legislation to enshrine their rights and conditions
Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the government is optimistic that Indonesia's ban on sending domestic workers to Malaysia, ordered in June after a spate of horrific assaults, will be lifted in the next few months.
He said the task force, which he will head and which will be staffed by officials from both countries, will look at how to expedite cases of non-payment of salaries and mistreatment of maids.
Hishammuddin said his first priority would be to help clear the 140 domestic workers and six children residing in a shelter in the compound of the Indonesian embassy in Kuala Lumpur, who are all waiting for court cases to be resolved.
"These problems, especially those faced by the embassy here, need to be addressed soon, that's why this special task force is being set up," he told reporters.
"The process takes too long sometimes, what we want to do is to expedite the process," he added. "We don't want anyone on Malaysian soil being taken advantage of."
Hishammuddin said the government is optimistic that the Indonesian ban on maids will be lifted soon once the two sides negotiate an agreement on wages and conditions.
"The memorandum is still in discussion, there is still a moratorium at the moment, we hope to resolve that soon within one or two months," he said.
Ambassador Da'i Bachtiar said the number of Indonesian maids working in Malaysia has dropped from 300,000 last year to around 230,000 at present.
The ban was triggered by a string of abuse cases including one where a Malaysian woman was charged with causing grievous bodily harm by beating her Indonesian maid and scalding her with boiling water.
One of Asia's largest importers of labour, Malaysia depends heavily on domestic workers, mainly from Indonesia, but has been criticised for not introducing legislation to enshrine their rights and conditions
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