TEMPO.CO, Kuala Lumpur - The government only sets the cost of employing domestic maids from Indonesia, Deputy Human Resource Minister Datuk Ismail Abd Muttalib said las Sunday. While the cost of employing maids from other countries is determined by supply and demand.

Ismail said Malaysia and Indonesia had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the matter where the cost had been fixed at RM7,800 (around Rp 27,8 million) for each maid.

“The cost is reasonable by taking account the cost set by other receiving countries, like Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Middle East countries,” he said during the question and answer session in Parliament.

He was responding to a question by Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham (DAP-Beruas) who wanted to know the procedures in getting domestic maids from other countries and the reason for the high cost involved.

Ismail said currently, there were two mechanisms being used for the employment of foreign maids in the country, with the first through the MoU signing and the other, not through the MoU mechanism.

“Currently, the recruitment through the MoU is only with Indonesia, where employers are not allowed to employ domestic maids directly,” he added.

Instead, he said, it had to be done through a third party, which is a private agency that is recognised by both the Malaysian and Indonesian governments.

BERNAMA