M’sia, Indonesia agreed to MOU

But ‘one maid, one task’ ruling was not part of the deal, says minister

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will stick to the agreement made with Indonesia regarding the hiring of maids, and the “one maid, one task” is certainly not part of the deal, said Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.

“Malaysia and Indonesia have signed the Memorandum of Understanding regarding maids, and a taskforce was set up. We have agreed to implement what is in the MOU.

“Now, it is up to Indonesia to respect what is signed and bring meaning to the MOU,” he said.

Subramaniam added that Labour Department director-general Datuk Sheikh Yahya Sheikh Mohamed had explained the real situation in his statement on Sunday.

Sheikh Yahya was quoted as stating that what transpired in the joint task force meeting was different than what was stated in the media.

He also reportedly stated that Indonesian maids could be asked to do more than one task that they had been trained for.

To a question, Dr Subramaniam acknowledged there could have been a miscommunication over terms during Indonesia’s Labour Placement Development directorgeneral Dr Reyna Usman’s briefing to reporters after the meeting.

Separately, the Association of Foreign Maid Agencies (Papa) president Jeffrey Foo said that in a previous meeting, Dr Reyna had even said that with the pay adjustment to RM700 per month, most Indonesian maids would not mind multi-tasking.

Foo said the association would be meeting its Indonesian counterpart next week to clarify the matter.

Meanwhile, in a statement late yesterday, Indonesian Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said that maids who would be working in Malaysia should serve based on the four tasks of housekeeping, babysitting, caring for the elderly and cooking.

However, Bernama said there was no verification or denial by the Indonesian ministry regarding Dr Reyna’s statements on the “one maid, one task” ruling.

Malaysia and Indonesia have signed the Memorandum of Understanding regarding maids, and a taskforce was set up. We have agreed to implement what is in the MOU. — DATUK SERI DR S. SUBRAMANIAM