MAIDS TO COST 90pc LESS

IT used to cost employers RM18,000 to hire foreign maids. Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi says now, through direct recruitment that will begin in January, it will cost them only RM1,635, a whopping 90 per cent reduction. This, however, excludes flight tickets and other miscellaneous costs.

KUALA LUMPUR: More Malaysians will be able to hire foreign maids with the much reduced cost of recruitment set by the government, said the Malaysian Maid Employers Association (Mama).

Its president, Engku Ahmad Fauzi Engku Muhsein, said his association and many Malaysians welcomed the lower cost, which would help meet the demand for maids.

“The cost has been halved. We thank the government for doing this. It will help people save.

“The only issue will be paying for the required frequent medical check-ups for the maids. In most situations, employers will have to bear the cost,” he told the New Straits Times yesterday.

Engku Ahmad was commenting on Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s announcement yesterday that employers who want to directly hire foreign maids would now have to pay only RM1,635 online instead of RM18,000.

After chairing a Cabinet Committee Meeting on Foreign Workers and Illegal Immigrants, Zahid said the direct recruitment of foreign maids allowed employers to save up to 90 per cent of the cost.

Mama welcomed this, saying it would greatly ease the process of hiring foreign maids.

Zahid also said employers who wished to hire maids from Indonesia and the Philippines would have to apply from registered companies under the countries’ labour ministries starting Jan 1.

Engku Ahmad said he had reservations about this.

He wondered why this was necessary, and how employers could find out whether a company was registered or not.

He asked whether employers had to go to the respective countries’ embassies or directly to the companies.

“I expect that there will be a fee for the service. I hope the charges will not be exorbitant.”

He urged the authorities to clarify the process of directly hiring foreign maids.

He said reducing the cost of recruitment was the first step in simplifying the hiring process.