KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 — Malaysia has sufficient laws to protect the rights and welfare of domestic workers, the Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies (Papa) said today.

Its president Jeffrey Foo said the proposed moratorium on Indonesian workers by Indonesia ambassador to Malaysia Rusdi Kiran will not stop future abuse cases from taking place.

Foo called on both governments to come up with a long-term solution to address the issue.

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“Having a ban is not a good move. The recent case is an isolated case and stopping their people from working here does not prevent it from happening again.

“There is no excuse for abuse, but Malaysia already has sufficient law to protect the maids and penalise the employers if they have done wrong,” he told Malay Mail today.

Following the recent death of 20-year-old victim Adelina Sau, who was allegedly abused by her employer, the Indonesian government is reportedly proposing a moratorium on allowing its citizens to work in Malaysia as domestic workers.

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Two people have since been arrested in Indonesia on human trafficking charges in connection with Adelina’s death.

Commenting on this, Foo said domestic helpers who were hired through illegal channels were at risk as they were left unprotected by the law.

He said the government should discourage direct hiring as it does not guarantee the protection of both the maids and their employers.

“When you are not hired through the proper channels, no one can protect the maids. It is better for the Indonesian government to send their people through the agents.

“Yes, agents charge a lot but the cost is high because we take responsibility over the welfare of the maids as well. Agencies would usually do their own vetting and counselling of the employers and help both parties accordingly.

“You want it to be cheap, but when there is no agency, that is when problems arise,” he said.

Last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced the 2018 Budget proposal allowing employers to hire maids directly to reduce cost.

Malaysian Maid Employers Association (Mama) President Engku Ahmad Fauzi Engku Muhsein agreed on the need to go through legal channels, as maid agencies were given the task to follow-up with the employers of the domestic workers.

Disagreeing with the proposed moratorium, Engku Ahmad Fauzi said that in some cases, employers end up becoming abused by the domestic worker. 

“We have a justice system which is fair and just. While we regret what has happened, we hope the Indonesian government would understand that our authorities are currently investigating the matter.

“The ban will not solve the problem and is merely a reaction to what has recently happened. What the government should do is to come up with a long term plan that involves stakeholders, employers, agencies, NGOs, embassies, and authorities sit down together and come up with a solution,” he told Malay Mail.

As part of the solution, Engku Ahmad Fauzi proposed that the government come up with a law that would protect the rights, interests and welfare of both employers and domestic workers.

He said this would encourage source countries to send over their workers knowing that their people are protected by the law.

He said there also has to be an orientation programme for the employers and maids to familiarise them of their rights, duties and responsibilities.

“There should also be a monitoring body to oversee the domestic workers in the country. Perhaps the Indonesian embassy can follow up by doing a quarterly gathering with the employers and maids,” he said.

Engku Ahmad Fauzi said that while such abuse cases are isolated, employers need to understand their responsibilities as well.

“Employers should treat their maids as part of the family. Just as how we expect our bosses to treat us well at the workplace, we should do the same for our helpers.

“There are a lot of good employers, about 99 per cent of them treat their maids fairly. Therefore we need to approach this matter as a whole,” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has said he hopes that Indonesia will not reintroduce a moratorium on allowing its citizens to work in Malaysia as domestic workers, and that the recent abuse case was an isolated incident.

Zahid, who is also the Home Minister, said he would meet Indonesian Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhammad Hanif Dhakiri in the near future to discuss the matter and find the best possible solution.