DAP’s Charles Santiago said the breach of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) would not instil confidence in other source countries that provided Malaysia with foreign labour.
“It shows that Malaysia is not a responsible partner in the recruitment of migrant workers,” he told FMT.
“This will also send a wrong message to other countries, such as Cambodia, that are interested in sending their citizens to work in Malaysia. Cambodia already has a bad experience with us due to the death of a number of its citizens in Malaysia.”
Yesterday, Indonesian ambassador Hermono said the Malaysian immigration department’s continued use of the Maid Online System (MOS) to facilitate the recruitment of Indonesian maids was in breach of the MoU.
He said the MOS bypassed the One Channel System that was introduced in the MoU.
The republic subsequently imposed a temporary freeze on all Indonesian workers entering Malaysia.
Santiago also said the continued use of MOS, which is opposed by the republic, made Malaysia’s commitment to combating the problem mere lip service.
“It is just shameful since they (Putrajaya) want to fight forced labour, but it is clearly not happening since we are perpetuating it indirectly (by using MOS).”
The Klang MP also criticised the human resources and home ministries, saying their “arrogance” had led to the breach of the MoU. He called upon the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to take charge of the migrant workers’ intake by setting up an agency under it.
“Or they can set up a standalone migrant worker recruitment agency that can bypass all the nonsense that we are experiencing right now.”
Irene Xavier of Persatuan Sahabat Wanita Selangor (PSWS) hit out at Putrajaya for not taking its role as a partner in the MoU seriously.
“When the Indonesians say they oppose the MOS, then Malaysia should listen to them,” she told FMT. “Take the Indonesians seriously since we don’t have the system (or the laws) to protect migrant workers in this country.”
Xavier also said Hermono had made it clear during a stakeholders’ meeting on June 16, the International Domestic Workers Day, that the republic would not be sending its workers to Malaysia if the latter failed to commit to the conditions outlined in the MoU.
These include the number of working hours, number of maids who work in a household, day-off, minimum wage and number of tasks done by the maids.
Meanwhile, migrant workers’ rights activist Adrian Pereira of North-South Initiative (NSI) said the fiasco showed the need for countries to exercise transparency in drafting MoUs and to work with civil societies.
He said when such agreements were drawn up in secrecy, it was difficult for civil societies to monitor their implementation.